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Since at least 6,000 BC, people have been making flour from wheat. It has been a vital ingredient worldwide, used most commonly in bread & its regional cousins. The Museum Mühlerama in Zurich, Switzerland, is not only dedicated to the history of flour milling, but it’s still a working mill where you can see the process in action & mill & bake your own bread. It’s a unique place to visit for anyone interested in baking.
About Museum Mühlerama
Switzerland has a rich history of flour making that continues today. The country manufactures half of all mills. The Tiefenbrunnen industrial flour mill has been in operation for over 100 years. Housed inside a former Zurich brewery built in 1892, the Wehrli & Koller mill was closed in 1982.
However, the three-story flour mill has now been brought back to life. Not only is it the oldest mill in Zurich that is still in operation, but it’s also a museum, exhibition space, and baking school. There are arts performance spaces plus restaurants & shops in the same complex.
Museum Mühlerama is located south of the Zurich city center on the western shore of Lake Zurich. It’s easily accessible via public transportation. Take a tram, train, or even a ferry to Tiefenbrunnen. Alternatively, it’s a nice 45-minute walk through the parks along the lakeshore.
My Visit to Museum Mühlerama
Museum Mühlerama is open daily (website). The admission fee includes an audioguide (and/or guided tour if available).
Book your hotel in Zurich now!Exploring the Museum
The tour begins inside the museum shop, which sells flour from the mill and cookbooks.
You’re free to explore on your own via the audioguide, which tells the story of the flour mill through the perspective of the building, but guided tours are also available.
Throughout Museum Mühlerama, there is an art exhibition. There are over 1,000 different types of bread on display, showing just how diverse it can be throughout the world. The goal of the museum is not just to tell the history of flour and bread-making, but also to act as a museum of food culture.
Each room exhibits a different part of the flour mill, which rises through three levels. A series of videos shows the milling process.
At the end, there is a corkscrew slide back down in case you’ve ever wanted to pretend you’re a bag of flour. I skipped this since it seemed like a comedic way to potentially injure myself.
Seeing the Flour Mill in Operation
No guided tour was scheduled when I arrived at Museum Mühlerama, so I did not expect to see the mill in action. However, as I arrived back at the museum shop, I was told that the mill would start soon. I postponed the final part of my visit, flour milling and bread making, so I could watch.
The mill isn’t just operated for tourists. Museum Mühlerama produces 10,000 kg of flour per year, used for pizzas & bread as well as baking classes & general sales.
Just one motor powers the whole mill. One person can operate the entire thing overnight, as the machines lift everything heavy as necessary.
We first started by seeing the sifting process separating the various components.
This is followed by those components getting ground down further & further by the mill.
Modern mills still use this same process, just with more sensors & electronics & such.
Seeing the flour mill in operation at Museum Mühlerama was a unique experience, so I highly recommend trying to see it if you can. If you can’t make it to the Zurich museum or don’t get to see it running, the video below shows the full experience.
Grinding My Own Flour & Baking Bread
Following the flour mill tour, I still had one more activity to partake in. I headed back to the front desk to get my cup of grain.
Head past the large kitchen where baking classes take place, and you’ll find a smaller room with various milling implements from throughout history before the Industrial Age.
This room also has modern hand-cranked mills where you can grind your cup of grain into flour. Grinding your own flour is an incredible workout. My arm was sore by the time I finished.
You can either take the flour home with you or, if you have time, bake it into bread in the upstairs kitchen. I didn’t have anything else to do for a while, nor did I have anywhere else I could use the flour, so I opted to bake some fresh bread.
Baking is in my heritage. My grandfather ran a bakery in New York City. I don’t bake often, but I enjoy it, especially since it connects me with my roots.
Upstairs, the employee who had operated the mill demonstration was also helping everyone with the baking process. There are also directions available, including adding other ingredients, proofing, and kneading.
Of course, I somehow made a loaf larger than other people’s and less flat, so it took forever to bake.
It was worth it, though, as few treats are better than fresh bread, especially when you’ve milled the flour and baked it yourself.
Watch a video of my visit to Museum Mühlerama in Zurich:
Here are some other great Zurich tours & activities.
Need a place to stay? Check out these Zurich hotel options. For a luxurious stay, I recommend the Park Hyatt Zurich. Zurich is an expensive city, but it’s easy to get around, so if you’re looking to save some money, you can stay at an airport hotel like the Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle, as I have also done.
