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I had this seed for a long time in my kitchen in a dry container. I decided to see if I could just plant it in a pot. When I was inspecting it I sensed that the outer shell was now easily breakable.
So I broke it and found a harder core. Except that it split right away. I am attaching a photo of the shell and the split parts.
Which seed is this and how could I grow it successfully?
Probably an acorn from an oak, as you have surmised. Reasons: acorn shells deteriorate rapidly and are thin (easily breaking open), the seed separates easily into two cotyledons, seed is regularly pointed, and shows evidence of being attached to a cup.
I agree with @alephzero that it is no use for germination due to drying; the germination point would have been between the two cotyledons which have clearly shattered and no further support in getting the new plant going. However I think not a hazel due to the reasons above - a hazel would have a more irregularly shaped seed, not separating easily, a harder shell and different basal characteristics.
It looks like a hazelnut.
If it has dried out so much that it has become brittle and fallen apart, planting it will be a waste of time. Originally there was only one nut inside the shell, not two!
You can grow hazel from nuts from the current year's crop of nuts (which are harvested in autumn) but they need to out of doors in the ground for the whole winter, so that the temperature changes will break the dormancy of the seed which will germinate in spring or summer the following year. Trying to grow one from a nut indoors in a pot is probably a waste of time.
