SETH: All right, and what is this monster of a contraption right here?

YURI: This is a sheeter for lamination, and we are going to put this dough under the sheeter and then, put the butter in.

SETH: Before I even arrived, Yuri mixed the dough for the croissant-like kouign amann, adding in Japanese matcha tea powder.

After the dough is mixed, it's kneaded and left to chill.

YURI: So right now, we are stretching the dough in order to put the butter in the dough.

SETH: So every time, you're just making it a little bit smaller?

YURI: Yes.

SETH: Making a little butter pocket.

YURI: Yeah.

I'm going to cut the side.

This will help stretch the dough evenly.

Ready to go back under the sheeter.

SETH: This is just kind of a fun machine.

YURI: Yeah.

All right.

This is the length I was looking for.

And then, we're putting sugar between the layer, so it will get extra crunchy.

SETH: Ooh, I like crunch.

So this is sugar that looks like maybe it has some more matcha powder in it?

YURI: Matcha in it, yes, to make extra flavor.

You can see.

SETH: Oh yeah, already seeing the matcha and the butter together.

YURI: I'm going to put the sugar one more time.

SETH: So is this going to be a really sweet pastry?

YURI: It's a little bit sweet, but I would say it's not too sweet.

Because we put matcha in it.

So it's a nice balance.

SETH: Going to be just right?

YURI: I think so.

Since this is the final dough, we are going to transfer to the table and cut it.

SETH: This is such an unexpected and unusual color, and I like that we have a ruler here too, because with baking, you just have to be super exact, right?

YURI: Yes.

Everything has to be precisely done, and the layer has to be nice and clear.

I'm going to bring out this bicycle cutter.

SETH: Quite the cool medieval contraption.

YURI: So I'm going to mark it this way, in order to cut it evenly.

We're going to cut it to make it into a perfect square.

Let me show you how small the layers are.

Between the matcha dough, you can see that each of the layers of the butter.

So I'm going to add more sugar for the bottom of the pan.

SETH: You say it's not going to be too sweet, I trust you.

YURI: It's not going to be too sweet.

So we're going to set this on the muffin pan.

We're going to add mochi on the bottom of the kouign amann.

The mochi is nice and soft, so when you bite into it, you get crunch, but also softness.

We're going to put these cups into a mochi.

SETH: You get to do a little smush to make the shapes?

YURI: Yes.

SETH: Baking just seems like a lot of fun.

YURI: Yeah.

We are going to shape the rest of the kouign amann.

And then, once they're proofed, we are going to put in the oven for 20 minutes.

So once it comes out, we let them cool.

And then, we add red bean paste and red bean cream.

To finish the pastry, we will dust the matcha powder on top.

SETH: All right, Yuri, that was quite the journey.

How do I dig into this?

YURI: Let me cut it in half, so you don't get all the cream on your nose.

SETH: I'll see how much I can get in one bite without making a huge mess.

YURI: Sure.

SETH: Here it goes.

YURI: Go for it.

SETH: A flaky mess all over the table, but that is just a heavenly pastry, a wonderful crunch on the outside.

In the middle, such a nice creaminess.