Baker's Dozen (13)

Medieval EnglishTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

Thirteen items. Traditionally explained as medieval English bakers adding a thirteenth loaf to each dozen; the tie to bread-weight laws is plausible but unproven.

1 baker's dozen = 13 pieces (exactly).

About the baker's dozen

A baker's dozen is thirteen, one more than the twelve a customer asked for. The usual explanation is that medieval English bakers added an extra loaf to stay out of trouble under the Assize of Bread and Ale, which tied the price of bread to the price of wheat. Henry III revived the law in 1266, and bakers who sold short weight could be fined, pilloried, or flogged. The extra bread is traditionally called the vantage loaf or the in-bread.

How well attested is the story? The Assize and its penalties are well documented, and the early 15th-century London book Liber Albus describes an old custom of giving retailers 13 loaves for the price of 12, which one historian reads as a resale margin rather than a safeguard. The phrase itself is recorded only from the late 1500s, with Thomas Nashe in 1596, and no surviving record links it directly to the law. The Assize regulated weight, not count, so the tidy explanation has gaps. Reference sources differ in how firmly they accept the link, but none cites direct proof.

Sources: Phrase Finder: Baker's dozen; Wordorigins.org: baker's dozen; Wikipedia: Baker's dozen

Baker's Dozen conversion chart

1 baker's dozen expressed in every other counting & quantity unit:

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