Prepare the Collected Chestnuts:

If you have bought pre-packaged chestnuts, you can skip this step.

Give the collected chestnuts a wash.
Boil them in a saucepan until soft (about 30 minutes, depends on size).
Drain the water, leave the chestnuts to cool briefly, then take each, cut it in half, and scrape out the halves with a teaspoon.

The Bread Dough:

Soak the flaxseed: Pour 100ml of warm water over the flaxseed, stir, and leave to soak for 10 minutes.

Dissolve one tbsp of maple syrup in 300ml of lukewarm water to prepare the yeast.
Add the dry yeast (or fresh yeast) and leave for 10 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.

Roughly chop the walnuts and finely chop the precooked chestnuts.

Put the spelt flour in a bowl, add salt, olive oil, yeast-water mixture, and swollen flaxseed, and mix all with a spoon/hands.
Add the chestnuts and knead the dough with your hands until it binds well.
Add the walnuts and go on kneading for about five minutes.
Form a ball of dough and put it back into the bowl.
Take a clean kitchen towel, cover the bowl, and leave the dough to rest for two hours.

Warm the oven a little (only 30°C/80°F) and place an ovenproof dish with hot water at the bottom of the oven – we will leave the dough to rise a second time in this environment.

After the two hours rest, knead the dough again by hand onto a floured work surface, shape a ball and place it in a floured proofing basket (or another basket with baking paper inside). Place the dough in the slightly warmed,  steamed oven and leave to rest again for at least 30 minutes.

Decorating the Chestnut Bread

Take the risen dough out of the oven.

Heat the oven to 250°C/480°F top and bottom heat. Leave the dish with water inside.

Line a baking tray with baking paper, place the dough out of the proofing basket on it.
Flour the surface of the dough.
Optionally, you can use a razor blade to carve a pattern or motif on the dough.
Use your hand to tap a little water onto the floured, decorated top.

Baking the Chestnut Bread

Bake the chestnut bread in the hot oven at 250°C/480°F for 10 minutes.
Turn the heat down to 200°C/390°F and bake the bread for another 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat, open the oven door by inserting a wooden spoon, and leave the bread for 5 minutes.