History

La Francaise was the first authentic French bakery in Dallas. Samuel Alves, new to Dallas, realized in exploring business opportunities that no place served the buttery croissants and chewy baguettes so loved in Europe and his native Portugal. In 1976 Samuel and former wife Anita opened La Francaise, the retail bakery in Lake Highlands that introduced the real croissant to Dallas. Customers lined up to buy the flaky treats, and when sold out, there were no more until the next day.

In the early days, as now, La Francaise used only real butter, fresh eggs and whole milk. With the hiring of a pastry chef, the bakery’s products expanded to include French pastries and cakes. A second retail location opened in 1992, and La Francaise also began selling baked goods to wholesale customers.

La Francaise eventually closed both retail outlets in 1996 to focus solely on wholesale baking. The company quickly outgrew its first warehouse and moved to a larger facility in 2001.

Today La Francaise occupies a 6400 sq.ft. warehouse and employs 14 fulltime employees. It is operated by Chris Alves and his father Samuel Alves.

Bakery/Wholesale

La Francaise honors its roots as Dallas’ first authentic French bakery by continuing the old-world traditions that have resulted in outstanding baked goods since 1976.

Today we are a wholesale bakery and no longer have a retail operation.

But we still use only the finest ingredients, like Pelugra butter and King Arthur Flour. Our process is all-natural. We use no coloring or preservatives. We take the time required to produce extraordinary breads; some of our breads, for example, are cold-proofed for up to 12 hours. Head baker John Christophe Blanc, who grew up baking in France, oversees our artisanal style of baking.

We offer almost 100 different products, ranging from classic French baguettes and natural crispy breads to breakfast pastries.  At a customer’s request we are happy to create a unique bakery item to meet specific needs. All our products are fully baked.

(Orders must be placed by 10:00 am for a following business day delivery)

(Our minimum order for delivery is $40.00)

Head Baker

Jean Christophe Blanc joined La Francaise as head baker in 1999. His considerable expertise allowed the bakery to transform its bread production from simple white, to sourdough, rye, whole wheat, and other specialty breads. He has since created several products.

While the accomplished baker has a light hand with almost any baked good, Jean Christophe’s specialty is the baguette. His display the crisp crust, slight chew and creamy vanilla color that are hallmarks of an authentic French baguette.