Document and Entity Information Document	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2014	Apr. 29, 2014 Common Class A [Member]	Apr. 29, 2014 Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Panera Bread Company
Entity Central Index Key	0000724606
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-30
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Apr. 01, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		26,085,066	1,381,865
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes