Count bread rolls on a tray from a photo

Counting bread rolls, including rolls baked touching

Bread rolls are often baked close together so they rise into each other, leaving a tray of pull-apart rolls joined at the sides. That is the main thing that goes wrong when a bakery counts oven output, wholesale dispatches or end-of-day unsold rolls from a photo: a joined block can read as fewer, larger rolls. The crease between two rolls is usually visible from above, so camera angle and light matter more here than with separated rolls.

Low light from one side, with the camera directly above the tray, puts a shadow in each crease that outlines every roll. Mark one complete roll as the example in Similar items so the counter learns the single-roll size. Dark rye and seeded crusts on a black tray lose their edges, so move them onto a lighter board or parchment. Morning production often fills a rack trolley; photograph one tray at a time and add each as a row.

Joined pairs read as one are the thing to look for in review; correct the tally row for each, and label rows by product so the CSV shows output per line. Wholesale orders packed into stacked delivery crates can be counted crate by crate, and donuts from the fryer can share the same tally sheet.

Roll tray checks

• Low side light to show the creases between rolls
• Dark crusts moved onto a light board
• One complete roll marked as the example
• One tray per photo, one row per tray