why is a bakers dozen 13 not 12?

Answer 1

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 crude 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 could be seen in the guild codes of the Worshipful Company of Bakers in London.

Answer 2

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 crude 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 could 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. 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. Continued use also stems from tradition, and some customers see it as a sign of appreciation from the baker for continued patronage.

Answer 3

It's all to do with making sure they didn't break the law by selling underweight bread.

Quote from website:

BAKERS’ DOZEN

The importance of every loaf being identifiable is easily understood, so a different mark (or ‘dock’), the Hallmark, was issued annually to each baker from Bakers’ Hall.

Bakers Loaf

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’.

Answer 4

What's the origin of "baker's dozen"? 24-Oct-2002 --------------------------------------... Dear Straight Dope: I can't find anything on why a baker's dozen is 13. I heard that it came from the time when royalty had food testers. Thus, the tester got one and the dozen was still intact for the king or queen. For some reason I don't buy that. Help. --Leslie Matteson SDSTAFF Dex replies: I don't buy it either. I've got a much simpler theory, and if you don't like it I've got a slightly more complicated one that doesn't require us to drag in the royalty. The first theory goes back to ancient times. Bakers were widely viewed with suspicion, since it was common (and easy) for them to short-weight customers. Many societies had severe penalties for bakers who engaged in such underhanded practices. For instance, one source says that in ancient Egypt, the baker's ear was nailed to the doorpost of his bakery if he were found selling light loaves. (I'm not sure whether the ear was still attached to the baker. Either way it was a pretty stiff punishment.) Under the code of Hammurabi, a loaf of bread and a man's hand were interchangeable. They took their bread seriously back then. In the mid-13th century, British law imposed strict regulations on bakers regarding the weight of bread. Bakers wanted to make sure they complied, since the penalties were severe (a fine or the pillory, although nothing involving ears, so far as I know). It was difficult to make loaves of uniform weight in those days before automation, so bakers added a 13th loaf to every shipment of 12--better to be overweight than under. Thus "a baker's dozen" meant 13. The second theory is more complicated. A baker selling to a third party (a street vendor, say) would add a 13th loaf as the profit for the middleman. That is, the baker sells the middleman 13 loaves for the price of 12, and the middle man sells the 13 individual loaves for a 7.7% profit. Whichever theory you accept, the evolution of the expression today has come to mean that the baker adds an extra cookie, bun, pastry or whatever to the order of 12 as a bonus. By the way, the word "baker" itself, meaning one who bakes (duh), dates from around the year 1000. A variant is bakester, which survives in the surname Baxter. As Cecil has pointed out, some think -ster is a female ending and that a bakester or baxter was originally a female baker, just as there were websters (female weavers) and spinsters (female thread spinners). But those acquainted with many gangsters, mobsters, or teamsters (not saying these three terms are in any way related) may have their doubts. --SDSTAFF Dex

Answer 5

Becasue that is what the baker gave you years ago 13 not 12, the extra one for good measure.

Answer 6

Because a generous baker would throw in an extra loaf of bread/doughnut/etc. in goodwill when you bought a dozen. It was promotional and kind, and coined the bakers dozen.

Answer 7

Because in days gone by if you purchased 12 loaves of bread or cakes or buns, the baker would throw one in for free making 13.

Answer 8

The Baker always made one extra in case one got spoiled

Answer 9

1 for the baker to eat and test!

Answer 10

when the baker is moulding the bread he uses a set amount of dough. if he divides it into thirteen rather than twelve, he will be sure to have enough to satisfy his customers and it will have cost nothing extra. clever men these bakers when they give you what you have paid for and you think you have had a present.....