Preparation and characterization of a biaxially textured Gd2Zr2O7 and Ce0.9La0.1O2 − y (CLO, cap)/Gd2Zr2O7 (GZO, barrier) buffer layer stack by the metal–organic deposition route are reported. YBa2Cu3O7 − d (YBCO) superconductor films were deposited by the pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique to assess the efficiency of such a novel buffer layer stack. Biaxial texture quality and morphology of the buffer layers and the YBCO superconductor films were fully characterized. The surface crystallinity of the buffer layers is studied by the electron backscatter diffraction technique. It is revealed that post-annealing GZO films in 2% H2 in Ar is an effective way to improve the surface crystallinity. As a result, a highly textured CLO film can grow directly on the GZO film at a lower crystallization temperature. The critical current density of a YBCOPLD film is higher than 1 MA cm − 2 (@77 K, in self-field), demonstrating that the novel CLO/GZO stack is very promising for further development of low cost buffer layer architectures for coated conductors.