Doughkyo made its debut at Westfield Parramatta in late April 2023. The name itself, a clever fusion of ‘dough’ and ‘Tōkyō’, reflects a clear affinity with Japanese culture. Positioned as self-proclaimed ‘bread masters’, the distinctive array of bread offerings harks back to the era of the Dough Collective, which had established its presence in the Sydney CBD during the mid-2010s. Doughkyo could very well be a revival or continuation of the Dough Collective.
2023
Lychee Grain ($6.90), featuring dried lychee, sesame mix, pepitas, and almonds.
This particular bread offering at Doughkyo immediately sparked my curiosity, evoking memories of a remarkably similar item from the days of Dough Collective. The bread’s texture was tender and soft with good chew. The distinct character of the bread was a delicate interplay between the subtle sweetness from dried lychees and the underlying savoury nuttiness from the seeds. While this version contained fewer lychees, the overall flavour and texture remained consistent.
Longan Bread ($6.90), featuring buttery milk bread with dried longan and walnuts.
During the Dough Collective days, they also offered a longan bread, which I had tasted but not purchased until now. This bread had a similarly soft and tender texture. The understated buttery flavour, not as pronounced as in a croissant, stood out. The dried longan contributed bursts of smoky sweetness, elevating it beyond conventional raisin bread. The walnuts provided a pleasing crunch and an added layer of nuttiness, enhancing the overall experience.
Longan Bread v 2 ($6.90), featuring buttery milk bread with red wine sauce, dried longan and walnuts.
After my initial experience with the Longan Bread, I noticed an update in their recipe. The addition of red wine sauce introduced a subtle touch of acidity that further enriched the smoky longan flavour.
Earl Grey Bun ($1.90 for 1 or $5.90 for 4 prepackaged), featuring ‘buttery filled Earl Grey pearl milk bread’.
This item was truly a standout, featuring a milk bun with delightful bounce and tenderness. The incorporation of Earl Grey tea into the dough added a subtle yet distinct flavour without introducing any unwanted graininess. Inside, a creamy Earl Grey milk custard infused the bun with a luscious flavour, complemented by white crystal pearls that offered delightful bursts of chewiness. Given its affordable price, this delectable bun was a worthwhile purchase.
Okinawa Brown Sugar Red Bean ($7.50), featuring maple syrup, brown sugar, and red bean.
The aroma of this bread was a rich and inviting blend of brown sugar and maple syrup. These aromatic notes translated into a lively sweetness that harmonized beautifully with the nutty flavour of the generously dispersed red bean. The bread itself had a soft and tender texture, offering just the right degree of chewiness, while the addition of a crumbly top layer contributed a satisfying crunch. Overall, the experience was incredibly gratifying.
Black Sesame Taiko Bread ($3.90), featuring black sesame paste and milk bread.
The smooth paste had a rich nuttiness, blended with a red bean base that allowed the black sesame flavour to dominate. The milk bread featured an enjoyable crust on top, while the surrounding bread offered a tender texture and restrained sweetness. We would have preferred the dough to be a laminated pastry or have a denser bagel or pretzel texture.
Salty Butter Bread ($2.20).
Shio-pan, recently popularised in Korea (where it’s called sogeum-ppang), has been a delightful discovery. This version was particularly delicious, combining the crisp crust of a baguette, the soft, airy interior of milk bread, and the savoury, buttery flavour of a croissant. It brought together all the best elements of bread, and we would gladly return for more.
Black Forest Cake ($7.00/slice)
The cake featured light layers of soft chocolate sponge and generous amounts of cream with sour cherries throughout, all covered in chocolate shavings. Despite its structural integrity, the cake was surprisingly moist, with a rich chocolate flavour that tasted high-quality but remained light. The sour cherry notes provided a pleasant contrast. While very good, we prefer versions that include alcohol, like those from Flour Shop or Bakery Patisserie Schwarz.
Overall, we are delighted by the return of the Dough Collective after a considerable hiatus. Their bread, with its distinctly East Asian flavours, harnesses Western baking techniques to elevate it far beyond the overly saccharine offerings often found at places like Breadtop.
2025
Mung Bean pastry with Pork Floss and Salted Egg ($5.50)
The dense filling was unexpected, as we had anticipated a lighter, fluffier texture from the pork floss, similar to the taro pastry. The salted egg added a mild savoury note, but overall, the pastry was sweeter than expected for a savoury item. The pastry itself was denser and crumblier, lacking the light, flaky quality found in the taro and matcha pastries.
Taro Pastry with Pork Floss and Mochi ($5.50)
Despite not usually favouring taro, the starchy, creamy texture and mellow earthy sweetness worked well here, balancing the savoury pork floss. The mochi was incredibly soft and almost melty, providing a dramatic textural contrast to the dense taro filling and flaky pastry.
Matcha Red Bean Mochi ($5.50).
The matcha flavour was bright and slightly floral, with a vegetal freshness that complemented the earthy sweetness of the smooth red bean paste. The dense red bean filling contrasted well with the super-soft, almost-melting mochi interior and flaky pastry, creating a well-balanced dessert that was neither too sweet nor too heavy.
Black Sesame Bread ($4.90).
This bread featured ribbons of red bean paste and black sesame twisted through sweet milk dough, with additional black sesame seeds sprinkled on top. The milk bread was soft and tender, with a pronounced sweetness reminiscent of Bread Top’s offerings. However, this was balanced by the earthy sweetness of the red bean paste and the deep nuttiness of the black sesame. Overall, it was enjoyable, though a more savoury flavour in the bread would have been preferred.
2026
Dubai Chocolate Salted Butter Bread ($4.90)
The bread presented with a brown-coloured exterior and a pistachio and kataifi topping. After reheating, the liquid chocolate centre became the dominant flavour component, giving the bread a profile closer to a chocolate salt bread than a Dubai chocolate interpretation. The bread itself contributed little chocolate character, with the flavour concentrated almost entirely in the filling. The base developed some crispness from reheating but lacked the tender, rich buttery quality expected from a well-executed salted butter bread. The pistachio topping was insufficiently generous to provide a pronounced nutty flavour, while the small amount of kataifi failed to deliver the crisp, textural contrast normally associated with Dubai chocolate. Overall, the concept was more successful in the filling than in the bread or topping.
Pistachio Chocolate Salted Butter Bread ($4.50)
This variation reversed the balance of the previous bread, with the pistachio element present but the chocolate largely absent. The pistachio butter on top lacked the concentrated nuttiness of a high-quality pistachio paste, instead presenting as a processed, low-intensity pistachio spread. Although the interior of the bread was green, it contributed little discernible pistachio flavour, while the bread itself retained the same relatively plain, bready texture as the Dubai chocolate version. The crushed pistachio topping was also insufficient in quantity and flavour to provide either substantial nuttiness or textural contrast. The underlying bread lacked the rich butteriness and saltiness that should define a good shio-pan, leaving the flavour system disconnected from the base. Overall, a pistachio-led concept that remained muted and structurally underdeveloped.
Coffee Salted Butter Bread ($3.90)
The coffee character was similarly restrained, appearing only faintly in both the crust and the paste-filled centre. The bread itself remained predominantly bready, with some crispness developing on the base but little of the rich butteriness or savoury saltiness expected from a well-executed salted butter bread. The weak coffee flavour and limited buttery character left the bread without a strong defining element. Overall, a subdued coffee variation in which both the flavour component and underlying salted-butter bread lacked sufficient intensity.
Overall, Doughkyo has shifted considerably since its opening, moving away from the distinctive East Asian-inspired breads that initially defined the bakery towards increasingly trend-driven releases. The earlier Lychee Grain, Longan Bread and Earl Grey Bun demonstrated a more individual approach, using unusual ingredients within well-executed bread formats, while later offerings increasingly centred on fashionable combinations such as matcha, Dubai chocolate, pistachio and flavoured salted butter breads. In the process, many of the original defining breads have disappeared from the range, alongside a noticeable decline in execution and flavour intensity. The 2026 salted butter breads were particularly indicative of this shift, with the trend components often failing to deliver sufficient flavour while the underlying bread lacked the rich, buttery and savoury character that should have provided a strong foundation.
Doughkyo is located at Shop 1146, Westfield Parramatta, 159-175 Church St, Parramatta NSW 2150..