Chestnut flour in Italian breads

How many of you have heard of chestnut flour?

I certainly hadn’t heard much about it until I read an article by Riccardo Astolfi on the Pasta Madre web site about this topic. I have been following along with the articles on their site since I became aware of it when we began our series of articles on the “slow food” movement. One of the main themes of their site is the preparation and enjoyment of homemade breads. In this latest article we learn that some wonderful bread can be made using chestnut flour. There is a type of
traditional bread from Tuscany called the Marocca that is mixed with chestnut flour and potatoes and takes its name from the word “marocat” in the local Tuscan dialect, which means not very malleable. This name reflects the high chestnut flour content of the dough for this bread which makes it less malleable and less elastic than a mixture of wheat alone. But, it provides a unique taste that is worth the effort. We also learn that besides this characteristic bread of Tuscany, there are a variety of grassotti (bread sticks) and foccacine (focaccia-style breads) that contain this flour which can be enjoyed as an appetizer with just a drizzle of high quality olive oil, or with cold meats. For those of you that read Italian, here is the link to the article:http://pastamadre.blogspot.com/2012/01/oltre-alle-castagne-ce-di-piu.html

Buon appetito!
Lina