Bavarian Brotzeit: A Traditional Cold Platter

In this post, I’ll show you what your perfect Bavarian Brotzeit could look like. You’ll learn what Brotzeit is, why it’s so hearty and what belongs on a traditional platter.

You’ll also find my Bavarian Brotzeit platter for 8 people, 6 recipes for typical homemade specialties and 25 more Brotzeit ideas.

Have fun and good luck!

Brotzeit, Vesper, Jause: what do they mean?

Brotzeit is a snack or light meal that’s perfect for hiking, a beer garden visit or a day by the lake. It’s usually very hearty and savory. It originated with hardworking farmers and herders who needed a substantial snack to fuel heavy physical work.

You can have Brotzeit at any time. A longer or more generous one can replace a full meal.

There are plenty of names for it. Where I come from, we say Vesper. In Austria, it’s often called Jause. Brotzeit is also used informally for an evening meal of bread with sausage or cheese.

A typical Bavarian Brotzeit platter includes good bread, cheese, sausage, white radish and pickles.

The perfect Bavarian Brotzeit

A typical Bavarian platter looks like this:

• Speck or smoked ham
• Cold roast pork with horseradish
• Radi (white radish), cut into a spiral and arranged on the wooden board
• Radishes work very well too
• Obazda (a must on any Bavarian platter)
• Griebenschmalz, or crackling lard, garnished with fried onions

As you can see, a classic Brotzeit platter consists entirely of cold specialties.

There’s nothing wrong with serving Leberkäse and Weisswurst too. Pressack, aspic or homemade blood sausage and liverwurst also fit. Good homemade butter for the bread rounds out the platter beautifully.

Your imagination is the only limit. Purists would probably disagree with me, but put on whatever you think belongs there.

Bread for a Bavarian Brotzeit

Lye bread is a common accompaniment: pretzels, lye rolls or lye sticks. Hearty farmhouse bread is another classic.

The bread is usually rye sourdough flavored with caraway. It’s typical in Bavaria but not always easy to find elsewhere in Germany. You can substitute mixed rye bread or dark rye bread. Whole-grain bread or crispbread would be a modern interpretation and are frowned on at a traditional Bavarian Brotzeit.

My view: eat what you like and call it what you want. Unless you’re opening a Bavarian beer garden and serving protein bread with your Vesper, nobody is going to take your head off ;).

Choosing a serving board or platter

You’ll need a board or platter to arrange everything on. I alternate between a classic wooden board and a slate platter.

My Bavarian Brotzeit platter for 8 people

I love a traditional Bavarian Brotzeit. Here’s one of my variations.

Ingredients for the Bavarian Brotzeit platter

You can always choose what goes on your platter. I usually use:

• 100 g Speck
• 100 g smoked ham
• 8 Pfefferbeißer
• 200 g Obazda (see the homemade recipe below)
• 150 g Allgäu mountain cheese
• Pickles (see my pickling recipe)
• Farmhouse bread and pretzels (My tip: slice the bread fresh at the table instead of beforehand. It won’t dry out, and every slice tastes great.)

Would you prefer a cheese platter or a vegetarian board?

You’ll find more inspiration and recipes in my charcuterie guide. Loosely speaking, a charcuterie board is a French Brotzeit platter.

Getting the portions right

I always find quantities tricky because everyone eats differently.

As a guideline, about 60-70 g of sausage or cheese per person is enough for a snack.

For dinner or a complete meal, I’d allow about 150-160 g per person.

6 typical Bavarian specialties to make at home

Franconian Obazda

This is my mother’s original Obazda recipe. I can promise it’s very easy and wins everyone over.

Homemade Pfefferbeißer

Pfefferbeißer always belong on a Brotzeit platter, and making them isn’t complicated. Try my Pfefferbeißer recipe.

Homemade Weisswurst

Making Weisswurst is easier than you might think, and it tastes 100 % better than supermarket sausage. Try my Weisswurst recipe.

Smoked Speck

Smoked Speck is typical of a Bavarian Brotzeit, so this collection wouldn’t be complete without it. Here’s my smoked pork belly recipe.

Homemade Leberkäse

Leberkäse works beautifully on a Brotzeit platter. With a moderate amount of work, you can make your own in no time. Try my Leberkäse recipe.

Homemade lye pretzels

A lye pretzel is a must for Brotzeit. You can make your own in 1.5 hours, and they’re much better than bakery or supermarket pretzels. Here’s my lye pretzel recipe.

25 more Brotzeit ideas and recipes

You can also turn other dishes into a Vesper instead of serving a classic platter. My collection of Brotzeit ideas has 25 more delicious, quick recipes for you.

Frequently asked questions