I have heard the term used before but am not sure what it means. What does "the baker's dozen" refer to?

All I know is it means 13--I guess you buy a dozen & the baker throws in an extra.

I can't say if it has any historical backround, but a baker's dozen is 13, as opposed to 12. The extra is for all those little sneak thiefs who walk by and steal one of the goodies off the tray.

This, by the way, really ticks them off. So being a resourceful bunch, they just added an extra piece, so the count is not messed up. Hence, the baker's dozen.

I don't know of any bakery that actually practices that. I think it's mostly a running joke in the industry

That's my 13 cents

disyl,
The term refers to a group of 13,the former custom among bakers of adding an extra roll as a safeguard against the possibility of 12 weighing light, as there were penalties if a certain weight was not met.