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1
Combine the chestnut flour and plain wheat flour in a large bowl. Work in the lard or olive oil with the fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse sand — no large fat pockets should remain visible.
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2
Add the anise seed and the eau-de-vie. Bring the dough together with enough water to form a firm, cohesive mass. If including the dried figs, walnuts, or raisins, fold them in at this stage, distributing them evenly. The dough will be denser and darker than a wheat dough — this is correct.
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3
This is where the bread lives or dies: the ratio of chestnut flour to plain flour must be maintained at roughly 3:2. A dough that is too pale and elastic has too much wheat flour and will produce a bread that is airy, sweet in the wrong register, and without the dense, long-keeping character the chestnut flour provides. The finished dough must feel heavy, slightly sticky, and carry the grey-brown colour of raw chestnut flour throughout.
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4
Divide and shape the dough into round or braided forms as the village tradition dictates. Place on a lightly oiled or lined baking surface. For the Niolu variation, brush the loaf surface with chestnut honey — it will caramelise to a dark glaze in the oven.
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5
Bake until the crust is set and deep beige-brown across its entire surface, the anise seed is visible and toasted at the top, and — for the Niolu glaze — the honey has darkened to a lacquered, near-mahogany finish. The interior crumb, when the loaf is broken, must be dense and close, not airy.
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6
Allow to cool completely on a rack. The finished bread should keep for 3–4 days without deterioration — the chestnut flour and lard are by design its preservatives. A loaf that stales within a day has insufficient fat or chestnut flour.