Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 24, 2013	Oct. 22, 2013 Common Stock Class A [Member]	Oct. 22, 2013 Common Stock Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	Panera Bread Company
Entity Central Index Key	0000724606
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 24, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		26,783,295	1,383,020
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes