What Bisschopsmolen is known for
Bisschopsmolen operates from a watermill first recorded in 1092 and fully restored in 2004, when it became the first mill in the Netherlands to produce 100% spelt flour. It grinds Limburg grain on-site to bake sourdough desembrood and Limburgse vlaai, sold at its Stenenbrug shop and through its webshop.
Bisschopsmolen bakes from a watermill on Maastricht's Stenenbrug with a documented history stretching back to 1092, when Duke Godfrey of Bouillon leased the property, mill included, to the Bishop of Liège to help finance his part in the First Crusade. The mill was destroyed during the Spanish siege of the city's Jekerkwartier neighborhood in 1577, partly rebuilt in 1609, and stood before a full restoration in 2004 returned it to working order.
That 2004 restoration made Bisschopsmolen the first mill in the Netherlands to produce 100% spelt flour, and the site has operated as a working bakery-mill ever since, marking twenty years in that form with a 2025 anniversary. Grain grown in the surrounding Limburg countryside, including heritage Kollenberger spelt, is milled on-site before going into the day's bread.
The bakery's core products are a slow-fermented desembrood sourdough and Limburgse vlaai, the region's traditional fruit tart, both made with same-day milled flour. Around the retail shop, the operation has grown to include a tasting room (Smaaklokaal), short-stay lodging (Bakker & Bed), and a grain research and demonstration arm called GrainLabs, extending an eleventh-century mill into a modern grain-to-table operation.
Best for — Eleventh-century watermill grinding Limburg grain for sourdough and vlaai
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Where next
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