Molen de Speelman

Molen de Speelman is the corn mill of Overschie, a rebuilt windmill in Park Zestienhoven in Rotterdam, where volunteer millers grind meal for home bakers and sell it from the mill shop.

The shop sells freshly stone-ground meal of wheat (wholemeal), barley, maize, spelt and rye, ground at the mill, along with white flour, a Fitkoren bread mix and pancake flour. Where the grain comes from, and whether it is organic or local, is not stated on their website, and the bought-in bread mixes, yeast and bread improver on the same shelves are not something we have judged. The mill is not in the SKAL or Demeter registers. The millers give advice on getting a better bake, and their website carries instructions for baking with sourdough.

The mill and shop are open on Wednesday and Saturday from 10:00 to 15:00 at Overschiese Kleiweg 775. The meal is milled fresh for the day and stock and prices move with the price of grain, so their website asks visitors to check in the shop.

All the work at the mill is done by volunteers, some still training as millers through the Gilde van Vrijwillige Molenaars, and the mill is run by a foundation that depends on sales, visitors and donations.