Why is a bakers dozen 13?

	Why is a bakers dozen 13? Is it because the baker couldnt count, the pan had 13 spaces, the trainee baker threw one in to wind the boss up or was he just a ponker who was actually a transvestite who got the job by,,,,,,,,, ,,,,I'll leave the rest to your imagination. ,,,,,x, Asked By: SPLEB - 10/5/2007

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There are as many suggestions as loaves in a bakers dozen. A few solutions: The medieval bakers baked 12 loaves but included 1 extra. The extra loaf made a 'bakers dozen'. If a loaf came out burned the extra loaf made up the loss. Hence the baker would expect to finish with twelve loaves or a standard dozen. In order to avoid the dangers of short-weight, bakers often gave a small extra piece of bread, the ‘in-bread’, with each loaf and some of today’s older generation can still remember receiving these tasty morsels when buying a loaf. The custom arose likewise of bakers giving 13 loaves for every 12 bought, the extra one being termed the ‘vantage loaf’ and hence the ‘bakers’ dozen’. The oldest known source and most probable origin for the expression "baker's dozen" dates to the 13th century in one of the earliest English statutes, instituted during the reign of Henry III (r. 1216-1272), called the Assize of Bread and Ale. Bakers who were found to have shortchanged customers could be liable to severe punishment. To guard against the punishment of losing a hand to an axe, a baker would give 13 for the price of 12, to be certain of not being known as a cheat. Specifically, the practice of baking 13 items for an intended dozen was to prevent "short measure", on the basis that one of the 13 could be lost, eaten, burnt or ruined in some way, leaving the baker with the original dozen. The practice can be seen in the guild codes of the Worshipful Company of Bakers in London. While modern bakers no longer fear medieval law, they have found other reasons for a baker's dozen, as seen in the tidy way 13 disks (loaves, cookies, biscuits, etc.) can pack a rectangle (baking tray) of appropriate proportions.[citation needed] Modern standard sized packing trays have a 3:2 aspect ratio, and the most efficient two-dimensional array is hexagonal close packing, which has sixfold symmetry, such that each baked item is equidistant from its six nearest neighbors. The corners of a cookie sheet heat up and cool off faster than the edges and interior, so any item placed near a corner will not bake at the same rate as the other items. A 4+5+4 arrangement provides the dense hexagonal packing while avoiding corners, and would have been discovered empirically by bakers with the goal of baking the maximum number per batch with optimal uniformity. Answered By: john - 10/5/2007

Additional Answers ()

I think it's to do with having a spare one. We need 12 cakes, so make 13 just in case one flops/burns/gets dropped. Answered By: mark - 10/5/2007

It was 2 make up the weight. Answered By: elizadushku - 10/5/2007

One for luck (spoilage) Answered By: Well, said Alberto - 10/5/2007

Bacause the delivery boy always used to nick one of the buns,cakes or whatever. so the baker always made 13 to cover the lost one. Answered By: robert h - 10/5/2007

It's a consumer protection phenomenon. Answered By: Pedantic Scorpion - 10/5/2007

Is it? maybe your bakers can't count or maybe i'm just stupid! Answered By: Tess - 10/5/2007

Heard this on the radio the other day. it's because they used to sell rolls etc by weight. if it were found to be short they would face serious consequences, so they would chuck in a spare one to make sure it wasn't x Answered By: Willow - 10/5/2007

It was to cover for one being stolen by whoever was between the baker and the customer ! ! ! Answered By: minefelloff - 10/5/2007

During the Middle ages, it was common for each landlord to have a bakery, which was actually a public oven; Housewives would bring dough that they had prepared to the baker, who would use the oven to bake it into bread. As time went on, bakers would also bake their own goods, and this is where numerous tricks come in place: for example, Some bakers would have trap doors, that would allow a small boy to pinch off a bit of the dough, where he could sell it off as his own. This practice eventually lead to the famous regulation known as Assize of Bread and Ale, which provided harsh punishments toward bakers who were found cheating. In response, bakers commonly threw in one more loaf of bread; this tradition now exists in the phrase "baker's dozen", which is number 13. Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker Answered By: caroline w - 10/5/2007

This is the answer I found at the phrase finder site: It's widely believed that this phrase originated from the practice of medieval English bakers giving an extra loaf when selling a dozen in order to avoid being penalized for selling short weight. Source(s): phrase.org Answered By: anigma - 10/5/2007

From what I understand it originated in Europe, England I belieived. During a time of famine bakers began to cheat their customers out of baked goods because most of the populace could not count very well, due to the low educatinal standards of the time. This led to the king declaring that any baker found cheating a customer would either be killed or have his hands cut off. Therefore to protect themselves the bakers started addingf an extra so knowone could claim that they were being cheated. Answered By: Andrew P - 10/5/2007

I think it was the old way! You bought so many things and they gave you an extra one of them. Some shops still do it! I went to the fruit shop last week, bought a few including cooking apples. shopkeeper gave me an extra one free of charge Answered By: ros - 10/5/2007

They made 13 because if one gets dropped or burnt Answered By: Buddy - 10/5/2007

There are actually TWO schools of thought on this subject !! First is -- that bakers, would typically toss in an "extra" for their best customers as kind of a "thank you" gratuity for them doing business with them -- it became a standardized business practice as a type of "customer relations" thing !! The other is -- the bakers were contracted to deliver goods with the customers "on route" by way of weight as opposed to "count" --- BECAUSE -- it had become a "thing" for some bakers to "short" certain customers by presenting baked goods made somewhat smaller in content than originally contracted for ---- in other words --- smaller donuts at the same price !! This, "add-on" piece to the count was meant to opt in for the shipment to be at least ON the money if not some tad above the weight count !! Take your pick !! I have always preferred to believe the first explaination -- for I had MUCH rather believe in this practice coming from the GOOD side of peoples' nature as opposed to the other !!! Answered By: LARRY J7 - 10/5/2007

A baker's dozen, also known as a long dozen, is 13, one more than a proper dozen. The expression found its genesis in 13th-century England. Origin : The oldest known source and most probable origin for the expression "baker's dozen" dates to the 13th century in one of the earliest English statutes, instituted during the reign of Henry III (r. 1216-1272), called the Assize of Bread and Ale. Bakers who were found to have shortchanged customers could be liable to severe punishment. To guard against the punishment of losing a hand to an axe, a baker would give 13 for the price of 12, to be certain of not being known as a cheat. Specifically, the practice of baking 13 items for an intended dozen was to prevent "short measure", on the basis that one of the 13 could be lost, eaten, burnt or ruined in some way, leaving the baker with the original dozen. The practice can be seen in the guild codes of the Worshipful Company of Bakers in London. Source(s): Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker's_dozen Answered By: Quiche Lorraine - 10/5/2007

In the olden days .... some baker was accused by a duke of not making 12 whatevers..... so he decided to make 13 and to this day all bakers make 13......hence bakers dozen is 13. was on the radio the other day and still in my head Answered By: dave s - 10/5/2007

>> The real reason is the baker used to bake an extra for himself to eat & still have the 12 to sell. Ciao! Answered By: Nienna - 10/5/2007

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