Recipe How to Make Your Own Chestnut Flour

[MypinchofItaly]

The small drawback of chestnut flour is that it’s relatively expensive; but chestnuts, with their high caloric content, have been in the past an important part of the meal for many communities living in mountainous regions. It’s possible to grind one’s own chestnut flour at home. Chestnuts were then rightly known as the “bread of the poor”.

Makes: about 1.6 kg of flour | Preparation time: 5 mins | Cooking time: 2 h

• Chestnuts, fresh: 2 kg
• Water: as needed

Method

Boil the chestnuts in a large pot with plenty of water for 30 to 40 minutes. The chestnuts are ready when it’s easy to peel them completely, including the thin inner layer of red skin; remove them from the water and let them cool down a bit before individually peeling them.

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.

Place the peeled chestnuts on a baking tray and wait for them to be completely cold before baking them at 160°C for 1 hour. The chestnuts should come out of the oven all dried up, but not burnt. Leave them to cool.

Put some chestnuts in a food processor and blend them until you get to a very fine powder. Add all the chestnuts, a little amount at a time to avoid straining the food processor. Your chestnut flour is ready to be used in a recipe.