Why Are There 13 In A Baker's Dozen?
Why does a baker's dozen equate to 13? It's been this way since medieval times.
From roses to pencils, eggs to cookies, some things come by the dozen. But if you ask for a baker’s dozen at your local bakery, you’ll get 13—not 12—goodies. While a dozen means a group of 12, a baker’s dozen is a group of 13, an odd number of bakery goods that came about nearly 1,000 years ago.
Medieval Food Regulations
The story of the "baker's dozen" has nothing to do with faulty mathematics (bakers have to be good at basic math), or with a disposition of generosity (bakers have to make a living too). Instead, the 13 items that comprise a baker's dozen most likely started as a response to the Assize of Bread and Ale Law passed in 1266 in England under the reign of King Henry III. This was the first law in British history to regulate the sale and production of food. The king determined a specific weight that customers could legally expect a baker to provide for a certain price. A medieval baker who violated this standard could be subjected to a beating and imprisonment.
The Unpredictability Of Bread
Bread can be an unpredictable endeavor, even now. The time it takes to rise, and the amount of air developed beneath the crust of a fresh loaf depends on conditions often uncontrollable to the baker. During the era of King Henry III's reign over England, bakers were saddled with a reputation for shortchanging their customers by giving them bread that did not weigh as much as what was being paid for. The problem remains that yeast in bread dough has a mind of its own and the weight of two loaves of identical size might weigh different amounts. Throwing in an extra loaf for good measure when customers ordered a dozen ensured that the baker would never be short of the legal expectation. A baker's dozen was born.
Why Are Eggs And Bakery Goods Sold By The Dozen?
Selling food by the dozen goes way back to Elizabethan England. Farmers and bakers adopted the practice of selling eggs and bakery items by the dozen as a way to make selling their goods in the market easier and avoid making change. According to the New York Times, a farmer could sell one egg for a penny or 12 for a shilling (which equaled 12 pennies). Selling things in units of 12 carried on to America, and when you buy eggs, they are still sold by the half dozen, dozen, or two dozen.
Ordering A Baker's Dozen
When you order a baker’s dozen from your local bakery, you just might receive 13 cookies, rolls, or cupcakes for the price of 12. This luxury has persisted through the centuries even though no such law exists in our society today—and if you're anything like us, we're grateful a baker's dozen doesn't abide by the same rules of mathematics as everything else. Be it fresh doughnuts, an assortment of cookies, or a box of delicate pastries, there always seems to be room for just one more.
Related: Our Most Popular Bread Recipes Of All Time
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