How much is in a baker's dozen, and why is it so?

Answer 1

Baker's Dozen is 13...

Stems back to the days when you had to make sure your bread was a certain weight or you'll be fined. The baker's added an extra to make sure the weight was met.

From Wikipedia,
The oldest known source and most probable origin for the expression "baker's dozen" dates to the thirteenth 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.

Answer 2

There are 13 in a baker's dozen. It is so because an old tale had the baker making one too many every time. So now 13 has became the term baker's dozen.

Answer 3

13

12 for the customer

1 for the baker

Answer 4

What Dave C said. Back in the day, they came out with a dumb law saying that a dozen loaves (rolls) had to weigh X amount, but if the bakers actually changed their recipes to comply with that, it would lose the light and fluffy texture that their customers had come to know and love. Since it was even harder then than now to get stupid laws repealed, they just kept on making them the way they were always making them, and just threw in a couple extra with each sale to make sure that when the customer bought a dozen loaves, they got the legally-required weight in product.

Answer 5

a bakers dozen is 13, and its that way because bakers were ripping ignorant ppl off, by giving them 10 or 11 and swaying it was a dozen, so a law was made saying that if they were found shorting ppl they would be punished, so they gave 13 to make sure that the customers at least had 12

Answer 6

13

Answer 7

I always thought 13. The baker made 12 to sell and the 13th pastry to taste test.

Answer 8

13 but it is because back in the medieval days, if you shorted someone, you could be punished for it, including death. So the baker throws and extra roll in the sack to make sure he didn't make a mistake in his counting.
It has just carried over all the years but there aren't many bakeries that still do that since they don't usually chop of their heads if they are short.

Answer 9

13 is considered a baker's dozen.

The added doughnut was added as a lagniappe.

Answer 10

13. It's a tradition, that was based in the size of the ovens.