Cathy Katin-Grazzini       
Cathy’s Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
Kabocha Bread Twists
 
If you have some left over kabocha or even sweet potato, you can whip up some lovely bread twists, crisps, and sticks which are lovely to serve with your favorite dips. Crispy with slightly chewy interiors, they are delicious. The dough is lightly seasoned with fresh rosemary, shiro miso, and Aleppo chili flakes, but you can use whatever seasonings suit your fancy.
 
Prep time 15 minutes (plus one hour to cook kabocha if you don’t have leftovers
Bake time 10 to 12 minutes
Makes 15 to 25 twists, depending on length and width
 
1 ½ cups sense pulp of kabocha, or other sweet winter squash or sweet potato, baked, peeled, and puréed
1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1 ½ teaspoons sodium-free baking powder
4 teaspoons shiro (mild, white) miso paste
1 ½ teaspoons fresh rosemary needles, minced
Full ¼ teaspoon Aleppo chili flakes, or to taste (optional)
 
If you don’t have cooked kabocha on hand, preheat oven to 425°F.
Bake the kabocha whole for about an hour but check after 50 minutes. When a knife penetrates easily and the squash begins to darken and collapse, it is ready. When it is cool enough to be handled, use a peeler to remove the skin. Remove the seeds. Transfer the pulp to a food processor and run about 30 seconds to purée.
In a large mixing bowl combine the white whole wheat flour, baking powder, minced fresh rosemary, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine.
In a smaller bowl mix the cooked puréed kabocha and shiro miso, then transfer this mix to the large mixing bowl. 
Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a wooden spoon and then a clean hand. Knead the dough in the bowl for about 2 minutes, and form a soft, moist but not sticky ball.  Cover and rest the dough for 5 minutes as you prepare your baking pans.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
Dust a large cutting board with white whole wheat flour. To make twists and bread crisps, roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 3/16-inch thick, dusting and flipping the dough over occasionally if it begins to stick to the board. 
Use a pizza wheel or knife to cut the dough in ¾ to 1-inch strips and then in 4 to 6-inch lengths for bread crisps. Transfer them to the lined baking sheet, spaced an inch apart.
To make bread twists, cut a 6 to 8-inch length dough strip, gently roll it up widthwise it as if you were rolling the dough strip around a pencil. Then, holding both ends of the dough in each hand, twist one end clockwise and the other counter-clockwise as many times as you need to twist the dough strip uniformly. If it stretches in length excessively, cut into two twists. Transfer them to the lined cookie sheet, spaced 1-inch apart.
To make simple breadsticks, roll a 2 to 3-inch piece of dough into a cigar-shaped cylinder, from 1/4 to ½-inch in width, as a long as you like. Transfer to the cookie sheet, spaced 1-inch apart. 
Bake for about 10 minutes and check. The twists/crisps/sticks are ready when they are golden and crispy on their edges and firm to the tough. They will be crispy on the outside and, for thicker ones, have a slightly chewy interior. Bake a minute or two longer if you prefer them drier and crunchy.
Transfer to a cooking rack and serve when they have cooled.
Kabocha twists can be made in advance and freeze beautifully. To reheat, defrost then place them in a 250°F oven for 10 minutes to crisp up again.