Sant Feliu de Guíxols · Costa Brava · Since 2019

Maillard Croissant — Artisan Bakery

✦

Artisan bakery · Made by hand · Made with love

A small bakery obsessed with one single thing: the exact moment when dough, butter and oven surrender to the fire and become something new. People call it the Maillard reaction. I call it craft.

See the menu How to find us
Made by hand · Made with love
Rambla de la Generalitat, 5, baixos Sant Feliu de Guíxols · Costa Brava · Girona
Thursday – Saturday · 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM Sunday · 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Closed Monday through Wednesday
+34 676 282 549 WhatsApp directly
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The story behind the loaf

I'm Alberto — and it all started in a home kitchen.

I'm Alberto López, born in Povedilla (Albacete) and a Sant Feliu de Guíxols local ever since. I opened Maillard Croissant without ever having worked in a bakery — no prior experience, no family tradition, no mentor in a professional kitchen. In 2017, when I found myself out of work, I decided to find out whether the world of dough, fermentation and flour was really for me. I started teaching myself the craft — with books, endless late-night YouTube and kilos of flour all over the kitchen.

Through trial, error and refusing to give up, I got better and better — until neighbours started phoning to reserve loaves from a bakery that hadn't even opened yet. On 13 August 2019 I opened Maillard Croissant on the Rambla de la Generalitat. Along the way I've taken courses with masters who've helped me grow — Toni Vera, Jordi Morelló and Toni Rodríguez — and in 2019 I was invited to sit on the jury of "La Ruta del Bon Pan", which selects the 80 best bakers in Spain.

Alberto López, baker and founder
"If you love something, it pulls you in and pushes you to keep learning." — Alberto López, founder of Maillard Croissant

Today the bakery turns out up to 12 varieties of bread, many of them 100% organic — California walnut bread, baguettes, rye, wholegrain, multi-seed, coca d'oli, pa de Sant Jordi (St. George's Day bread, created by Eduard Crespo) — alongside the artisan croissant and panettones that take days of work. Production is artisan, limited and honest — no frozen dough, no fermentation shortcuts. What comes out of the oven is what I'd want to eat myself.

Why Maillard?

The reaction that changes everything.

In 1912, French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard described the reaction that gives a crust its golden colour, its crunch and that just-baked aroma. Every croissant that leaves this oven is, literally, a small Maillard reaction. That's where the name comes from. That's where the obsession comes from.

01

Dough

Carefully selected flours, long fermentations, generous butter. No shortcuts in the lamination: every turn of the dough counts.

02

Long fermentation

A minimum of 20 hours' fermentation — and for the croissant or panettone, several days of process. The dough ferments slowly, gluten proteins pre-digest and aromas develop. The result: bread and pastry that are far easier on the stomach, with deeper flavour and none of the heaviness.

03

Fire

The right temperature, the right time. This is where the magic happens: sugars and amino acids meet and out come the gold, the crunch and the aroma. Maillard.

Why it digests better

Long fermentation: more flavour, less heaviness.

Industrial bread ferments in 1 or 2 hours. Ours ferments for at least 20 — and for the croissant or panettone we're talking about several days of process. You feel the difference in your body: when dough ferments slowly, natural enzymes start breaking down gluten proteins and complex starches before you even take a bite. The result is bread your stomach digests far more easily — and a flavour profile that's deeper, with a natural tang and a living crumb.

No improvers, no colourings, no frozen dough. Few ingredients, made well, without rushing. That's the whole recipe.

20h+

Long fermentation

Minimum 20 hours of fermentation. For croissant and panettone, several days of process.

0

Zero improvers

No additives, no colourings, no frozen dough. What you see is what you get.

A+

French A+ butter

When we use butter, only the very best. A top-grade French butter — you can taste the difference in flavour and texture.

1

One bake a day

Artisan and limited production. When it's gone, it's gone.

Our essentials

What we make.

Artisan and limited production at our obrador in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. When it's gone, it's gone — and tomorrow we start again.

Signature Artisan croissant with visible lamination

Croissant

Several days of work from the moment the dough begins until it comes out of the oven. Light, crisp on the outside, tender inside. The one that put us on the map.

Freshly baked
Pa rústic — long-fermented rustic country loaf with golden crust

Pa rústic

Rustic country loaf with long fermentation: thick crust, open and lively crumb, and far easier on the stomach than industrial bread. Bread the way it should be.

Every day
Artisan Coca d'oli — traditional Catalan olive-oil flatbread

Coca d'oli

A thin Catalan flatbread with good olive oil and a touch of salt. The traditional one — exactly as it should be.

Tradition
Pans setmanals (Weekly breads)

A different loaf every day.

From Thursday to Sunday, a rotating selection of freshly baked organic (ECO) loaves, plus the artisan coca d'oli every single day. Limited production — once it's gone, you'll have to wait until next time.

Thursday

  • Pa rústic ECO
  • Spelt ECO
  • Rye ECO
  • Coca d'oli

Friday

  • Pa rústic ECO
  • Wholegrain 100% ECO
  • Multi-seed ECO
  • Coca d'oli

Saturday

  • Pa rústic ECO
  • Coca d'oli
  • Chocolate loaf (Pa amb xocolata)
  • Croissant VEGAN New

Sunday

  • Pa rústic ECO
  • Pumpkin seed loaf ECO
  • Coca d'oli

Products subject to availability. Hours: Thursday to Sunday (mornings).

A little something more than bread

My uncle's olive oil.

On the counter you'll find bottles of El Cortijo (my uncle's olive grove in Andalusia) — organic extra virgin olive oil (picual and arbequina) pressed from his own olives.

Extra Virgin Organic Picual · Arbequina 250 ml
El Cortijo organic extra virgin olive oil, picual and arbequina, from Alberto's uncle
In the press

They've talked about us.

In January 2025, TV Costa Brava (Joan Parareda) visited the bakery to show how we make our croissants on International Croissant Day. Watch the full feature below.

TV Costa Brava Culture · January 2025
Guíxols Informa Feature · October 2020
"Descobrim com fan els croissants a Maillard Croissant." (How they make the croissants at Maillard Croissant.) — TV Costa Brava
Watch the feature
Press clipping — Maillard Croissant in Guíxols Informa, October 2020 Guíxols Informa · October 2020 · View the clipping
What our customers say

"The best croissants in Catalonia."

★★★★★
4.9
+105 reviews on Google
See all reviews on Google
Frequently asked questions

What people ask us.

If it's your first time, here are the questions we get most often. Got another one? Drop us a message on WhatsApp.

Where is Maillard Croissant?
We're at Rambla de la Generalitat, 5, ground floor, right in the centre of Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Costa Brava, Girona, postcode 17220). On Google Maps you'll find us as "Maillard Croissant".
What are the bakery's opening hours?
We open Thursday to Saturday, 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and Sundays from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Closed Monday to Wednesday. Because production is artisan and limited, if the bread runs out we close early — better to come early.
Why is your bread easier to digest?
Because I use long fermentations — a minimum of 20 hours, and for the croissant or panettone several days of process. During that time, the natural enzymes in the dough start breaking down gluten proteins and complex starches. By the time you eat it, your stomach has far less work to do. That's the difference between industrial bread (1–2h fermentation) and bread from a real artisan bakery.
Why is it called Maillard Croissant?
Because of the Maillard reaction, discovered by French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard in 1912. It's the chemical reaction that gives bread crust and croissants their golden colour, their distinctive crunch and their toasted aromas. It's literally what makes a croissant taste like a croissant. And it's what happens every morning in my oven.
What do you sell?
My specialty is the artisan croissant. I also bake long-fermented pa rústic (far easier to digest than industrial bread), coca d'oli (Catalan olive-oil flatbread), artisan panettone (which takes serious work), pa de Sant Jordi (St. George's Day bread, created by Eduard Crespo) and seasonal pastries.
Do you take orders for pickup?
We take orders via WhatsApp at +34 676 282 549 for pickup at the shop. To make sure we have it for you, please give us 2 days' notice. With less notice we can often still help, but it depends on what's left from the day's bake — production is fixed and we can't make more.
What's the best bakery in Sant Feliu de Guíxols?
It's not for me to say, but our customers rate us 4.9/5 stars on Google across more than 105 reviews. For us, the best bakery is the neighbourhood one — made slowly, without shortcuts. Come and judge for yourself.
Visit us

Step in, smell, taste.

Address

Rambla de la Generalitat, 5, ground floor
17220 Sant Feliu de Guíxols
Girona · Costa Brava

Hours

Thursday – Saturday8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Sunday9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Closed Monday to Wednesday.

⚡ Artisan and limited production — if the bread runs out, we close early. Better to come early.

Contact

+34 676 282 549
WhatsApp · @alvertoh · Facebook

How to find us Order on WhatsApp
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