A method for making noodles using a pasta machine

Abstract

This invention discloses a noodle-making method using a pasta machine. The method includes: a flour-water mixing stage, where a dough mixer stirs flour and water in a first direction to form dough flakes; and a kneading stage, which has multiple time cycles, including a first time cycle and a second time cycle. The first time cycle includes stirring in the first direction, and the second time cycle includes stirring in the second direction, with the first and second directions being opposite. In the second time cycle, a gap is provided between the dough flakes in the extrusion chamber and the die head. The preset time for the flour-water mixing stage is T1, and the preset time for the kneading stage is T2, where 1 / 3 ≤ T2 / (T1+T2) ≤ 5 / 8. This method effectively reduces the residue of dry flour and / or dough flakes in the dough inlet, ensuring good kneading results and producing noodles that are elastic, smooth, and free of white cores.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of noodle machine processing technology, and in particular to a method for making noodles using a noodle machine. Background Technology

[0002] The advent of home pasta machines has been a boon to families who love pasta, allowing them to quickly and conveniently prepare healthy, nutritious, and varied pasta dishes without leaving home. Typically, pasta machines involve kneading the dough and extruding it. The quality of the kneading process is crucial for the success of the subsequent extrusion step.

[0003] Generally, a pasta machine includes a base with a motor, a control unit located within the base, and a processing chamber connected to the base. The processing chamber includes a kneading chamber with a built-in kneading rod, an extrusion chamber with a built-in extrusion screw, and a die for extruding the dough. The kneading chamber and the extrusion chamber are connected by a dough inlet, which has a step near the tail of the extrusion screw. Flour and water are mixed in the kneading chamber to form dough flakes, which are then conveyed to the extrusion chamber for extrusion.

[0004] Currently, patent application number 201310425432.2 (hereinafter referred to as Patent 1) discloses an apparatus and method for users to prepare extruded food. Its main feature is the use of segmented extrusion in the extrusion process to reduce residue in the processing chamber and improve noodle performance. This segmented extrusion refers to dividing a normal 15-minute extrusion process into, for example, 3 or 5 equal or unequal sub-cycles, with the rotation direction of the rotating shaft opposite between adjacent sub-cycles. Furthermore, to remove the dry flour introduced into the extrusion cylinder during kneading and integrate it with the dough, avoiding the initial extrusion of dry flour, our prior patent (application number 201510291954.7, hereinafter referred to as Patent 2) discloses an intelligent noodle-making method for a household noodle machine. The kneading step takes 3 minutes and 30 seconds. After the kneading step is completed, the motor drives the extrusion screw to rotate forward to extrude the dough. After 5 seconds of forward rotation, the motor stops, then restarts in reverse, and then restarts in forward rotation to begin the normal extrusion process.

[0005] However, in the dough-making methods of Patents 1 and 2, the dough-making direction of the kneading rod is unidirectional, and the forward and reverse rotation steps are only performed after the dough-making step is completed. This causes the dry flour initially remaining in the extrusion chamber to only adhere to the outer surface of the dough flakes or dough, failing to participate in sufficient mixing, resulting in a situation where the outside is dry and the inside is wet. On the other hand, neither of the two dough-making methods considers further improvements and refinements to the dough-making step to enhance the uniformity of flour-water mixing during the kneading step, thereby avoiding problems such as burrs on the edges of the noodles, white centers inside the noodles, and insufficient elasticity in the noodles during the extrusion step. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention provides a noodle-making method for a noodle machine, which aims to further solve the problems of excessive burrs on the surface of noodles, white core, and low gluten content, while reducing the amount of dry flour and / or flour residue in the noodle inlet. This reduces the amount of dry flour residue in the noodle inlet, ensures good kneading effect, and produces good noodles that are chewy, smooth, and free of white core.

[0007] This invention provides a method for making noodles using a pasta machine. The pasta machine includes a base with a motor, a control unit disposed within the base, and a processing cavity connected to the base. The processing cavity includes a kneading cavity with a built-in kneading rod, an extrusion cavity with a built-in extrusion screw, and a die head for extruding noodles. The kneading cavity and the extrusion cavity are connected through a dough inlet. The noodle-making method includes:

[0008] The dough-water mixing stage includes the dough mixer stirring the flour and water in a first direction to form dough flakes;

[0009] Kneading and mixing stage: The kneading and mixing stage has multiple time cycles, including a first time cycle and a second time cycle. The first time cycle includes the kneading rod stirring in a first direction, and the second time cycle includes the kneading rod stirring in a second direction. The first direction and the second direction are opposite. In the second time cycle, there is a gap between the dough flakes in the extrusion chamber and the die head.

[0010] The preset time for the dough-water mixing stage is T1, and the preset time for the kneading stage is T2, where 1 / 3 ≤ T2 / (T1+T2) ≤ 5 / 8.

[0011] In this scheme, firstly, during the flour-water mixing stage, the dough mixer stirs the flour and water in a first direction to form small dough flakes, ensuring the initial kneading of the flour and water. Specifically, in the second time cycle, the dough flakes formed in the flour-water mixing stage are allowed to fall into the extrusion chamber through the dough inlet. This allows the falling dough flakes to adhere to the dry flour on the surface of the extrusion screw. In particular, the dough flakes with adhered dry flour can exert a pushing force to push the remaining dough flakes on the side wall near the tail of the extrusion screw of the dough inlet into the kneading chamber. In the first time cycle, the dough mixer stirs in the first direction, which helps to further knead the dough flakes with adhered dry flour, and at the same time, it can separate the remaining dough flakes on the side wall near the tail of the extrusion screw of the dough inlet from the side wall, thus allowing them to enter the kneading chamber more effectively. Therefore, by setting multiple time cycles in the kneading stage, with each cycle including a first and second time cycle in opposite directions of stirring, the dough clumps adhering to the side wall of the dough inlet can be smoothly introduced into the kneading cavity to continue kneading, improving the uniformity of flour-water mixing during the kneading process. In particular, it avoids material residue at the step formed between the extrusion screw tail and the side wall of the dough inlet, thus ensuring that the edges of the noodles are burr-free, the center is free of white spots, and the noodles are chewy and have a good texture during the extrusion stage. Furthermore, the amount of dough clumps and / or dry flour remaining on the side wall of the extrusion screw and dough inlet is greatly reduced, facilitating cleaning after noodle making and improving the user experience.

[0012] Furthermore, the preset time T1 for the flour-water mixing stage and the preset time T2 for the kneading stage are set to satisfy: 1 / 3 ≤ T2 / (T1+T2) ≤ 5 / 8. This ensures that the residual flour flakes and / or dry flour on the sidewalls of the extrusion screw and the dough inlet are pushed back into the kneading chamber and have sufficient time to knead with the flour flakes formed during the flour-water mixing stage. This guarantees the uniformity of flour-water mixing, resulting in noodles without burrs on the edges or white centers during the extrusion stage, and noodles with good elasticity and texture. When T2 / (T1+T2) is less than 1 / 3, the flour-water mixing stage is too long. This can cause the flour flakes at the step to be compacted under prolonged extrusion, adhering more firmly to the step. Consequently, they are difficult to detach from the step and fully participate in the kneading stage, affecting the overall quality of the flour flakes. When T2 / (T1+T2) is greater than 5 / 8, the mixing time of the flour and water is too short, which easily leads to uneven distribution of flour in the kneading cavity, resulting in the accumulation of dry flour and uneven kneading. That is, some of the dough is too wet and some is very dry. Once there is too much dry flour, more dry flour will enter the extrusion cavity during the kneading stage, causing dry flour to accumulate at the exit hole of the die head, affecting the subsequent extrusion efficiency.

[0013] Preferably, the water-flour mixing stage is no later than the kneading stage.

[0014] By setting the flour-water mixing stage no later than the kneading stage, the pasta machine can initially and evenly mix flour and water during the flour-water mixing stage, preventing wet dough or dry flour from accumulating in the kneading cavity. Because a step is formed between the side wall of the dough inlet and the tail of the extrusion screw, this is where dough clumps are most likely to remain. After the flour-water mixing stage, only a portion of dough clumps remain at the step. Then, in the kneading stage, the periodic forward and reverse rotation of the kneading rod pushes the dough clumps at the step back into the kneading cavity to participate in the kneading process. It also allows the dry flour that initially falls into the extrusion cavity through the dough inlet to first adhere to the dough clumps at the step before being pushed back into the kneading cavity, reducing the amount of dry flour residue at the extrusion screw. This significantly reduces the possibility of dry flour accumulating at the exit hole of the extrusion die during extrusion, ensuring smooth dough extrusion. Especially when the pasta machine is equipped with a blower below the extrusion cylinder to blow air onto the noodles to prevent them from sticking together, the reduction in the amount of dry flour also helps to disperse the dry flour and prevent it from getting dirty on the work surface.

[0015] Preferably, the dough-water mixing stage includes a first mixing stage and a second mixing stage, and the kneading stage is located between the first mixing stage and the second mixing stage.

[0016] The first mixing stage is to initially mix the flour and water evenly, preventing wet dough or dry flour from accumulating in the kneading cavity. The kneading stage is to bring back the dough clumps adhering to the steps and the dry flour extruded by the extruder into the kneading cavity, allowing these clumps and dry flour to fully participate in the kneading process, reducing material waste and facilitating the cleaning of the steps and extruder. Furthermore, a second mixing stage is set after the kneading stage, allowing the dough clumps and dry flour returning to the kneading cavity to fully participate in the kneading process with the dough clumps that have been in the kneading cavity, resulting in uniform moisture inside and outside the dough clumps, and extruded noodles that are elastic, smooth on the surface, and free of white core.

[0017] Preferably, the working time of the first mixing stage is equal to the working time of the second mixing stage.

[0018] Since the first mixing stage has already initially mixed the flour and water to form small dough flakes, the second mixing stage aims to further improve the uniformity of moisture in the dough flakes from the outside in, thus preventing white centers when extruded. Therefore, the second mixing stage does not need to be very long. Preferably, the working time of the first mixing stage can be set equal to that of the second mixing stage to avoid the second mixing stage being too long, resulting in excessive noodle-making time and affecting the user experience. At the same time, it also avoids the second mixing stage being too short, which could lead to the dough flakes not being mixed evenly, resulting in white centers in the noodles when extruded.

[0019] Preferably, a stepped portion is formed between the sidewall of the dough inlet and the tail of the extrusion screw. The second time period is shorter than the first time period. In the first time period, the sidewall of the stepped portion faces the stirring direction of the dough mixing rod, so that the dough mixing rod separates the dough flakes from the sidewall of the stepped portion. In the second time period, the sidewall of the stepped portion faces away from the stirring direction of the dough mixing rod, so that the dough mixing rod drives the dough flakes adhering to the sidewall of the stepped portion to move towards the inside of the dough mixing cavity.

[0020] A stepped section is formed between the side wall of the dough inlet and the tail of the extrusion screw, that is, the top surface of the tail of the extrusion screw and the side wall of the dough inlet form a stepped section, so that the extrusion screw and the dough mixing rod will not interfere with each other when they are working.

[0021] However, because the bottom of the kneading rod is higher than the bottom of the kneading cavity, it cannot reach the step area when rotating in one direction. Dough clumps that fall and stick to the step area remain stuck there. This not only affects the flour-to-water ratio in the kneading cavity but also leaves dough clumps that are difficult to clean after kneading. Therefore, in this solution, during the first time cycle, the sidewall of the step area faces the stirring direction of the kneading rod, allowing the rod to separate the dough clumps from the sidewall. During the second time cycle, the sidewall of the step area faces away from the stirring direction, allowing the rod to move the dough clumps stuck to the sidewall towards the inside of the kneading cavity. By continuously pushing the dough clumps at the step area in opposite directions during the first and second time cycles, the dough clumps are loosened relative to the step area and easily pushed back into the kneading cavity for kneading. Meanwhile, in order to ensure that after the dough flakes separate from the steps in the first time cycle, the stirring rod can still mix the dough flakes together with the dough flakes in the mixing cavity, the second time cycle needs to be set to be shorter than the first time cycle.

[0022] Preferably, the first time period is t1, the second time period is t2, and t1 ≥ 2t2.

[0023] By setting t1≥2t2, the pasta machine first brings the dry flour on the extrusion screw in the extrusion chamber and the dough flakes stuck to the step into the kneading chamber in the early stage of the first time cycle. In the later stage of the first time cycle, there is enough time to knead the dough flakes and dry flour brought into the kneading chamber with the dough flakes that were already in the kneading chamber, further ensuring the uniformity of the dough-water mixture.

[0024] Preferably, the time period further includes a third time period located between the first time period and the second time period, in which the control unit controls the motor to stop working so that the dough-making rod is in a stationary state, and both the first time period and the second time period are longer than the third time period.

[0025] Since the mixing direction of the dough mixer in the first time cycle is opposite to that in the second time cycle, sufficient time needs to be allowed for the motor to perform reverse rotation. Therefore, a third time cycle is set between the first and second time cycles to ensure that the motor can smoothly achieve reverse rotation. At the same time, to avoid affecting the overall dough-making time, both the first and second time cycles are set to be longer than the third time cycle.

[0026] Preferably, the kneading stage includes 2 to 8 time cycles, wherein in the first time cycle, the kneading rod is stirred in a first direction at a speed between 45 r / min and 55 r / min, and in the second time cycle, the kneading rod is stirred in a second direction at a speed between 45 r / min and 55 r / min.

[0027] Furthermore, to completely push the dough clumps adhering to the step area back into the kneading cavity for mixing, a kneading stage is designed with 2 to 8 time cycles. Through multiple time cycles and repeated forward and reverse rotations, no dough clumps remain at the step area, and the dough clumps within the kneading cavity become uniformly moist inside and out. Simultaneously, the stirring speed of the kneading rod in the first direction is set between 45 r / min and 55 r / min during the first time cycle. This prevents the dough clumps at the step area from being carried to the side wall away from the extrusion screw tail when the speed is too high, and also prevents the dough clumps at the step area from being unable to separate from the step area and enter the kneading cavity due to the pushing force of the kneading rod when the speed is too low. By setting the stirring speed of the kneading rod in the second direction between 45 r / min and 55 r / min during the second time cycle, the kneading rod can effectively move the dough clumps adhering to the side wall of the step area towards the inside of the kneading cavity. When the rotation speed in the second time cycle is too low, the force exerted by the dough-making rod on the dough flakes in the dough-making cavity to push the dough flakes at the step is insufficient, making it impossible for the dough flakes adhering to the side wall of the step to move towards the inside of the dough-making cavity. When the rotation speed in the second time cycle is too high, the force exerted by the dough-making rod on the dough flakes in the dough-making cavity to push the dough flakes at the step is too great, easily cutting off the dough flakes at the step. This causes some dough flakes to enter the dough-making cavity, while the rest remain at the step. No matter how much the dough flakes in the dough-making cavity are pushed afterward, they cannot reach this remaining dough flake, thus creating a scanning blind zone at the step. As a result, no thrust can be applied, and residual dough flakes remain at the step.

[0028] Preferably, the second time period is initially located between the surface water mixing stage and the first time period.

[0029] By setting the second time cycle to fall between the flour-water mixing stage and the first time cycle, the dough flakes formed in the kneading chamber after the flour-water mixing stage can fall from the dough inlet into the extrusion chamber during the second time cycle, thereby adhering the initial dry flour remaining at the extrusion screw to the dough flakes. Then, during the first time cycle, the dough flakes with adhering dry flour can be pushed back into the kneading chamber to continue kneading, forming a uniformly mixed dough flake.

[0030] Preferably, the dough preparation method further includes:

[0031] Extrusion stage: The extrusion screw rotates in the second direction to extrude the surface.

[0032] Between the overall dough kneading stage and the extrusion stage, there is also a resting stage. The resting stage includes a control unit that stops the kneading rod and the extrusion screw from rotating when the total working time of the dough-water mixing stage and the kneading stage reaches a preset time threshold.

[0033] To make the noodles more chewy, a resting stage is added between the overall kneading stage and the extrusion stage. The rested dough is more uniform inside and out, and its gluten development is enhanced, resulting in chewier noodles with a better texture. Specifically, when the total working time of the dough-water mixing stage and the kneading stage reaches a preset time threshold, the control unit stops the kneading rod and extrusion screw. This time detection eliminates the need for manual intervention, making operation more convenient for users. Attached Figure Description

[0034] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, are shown in the drawings:

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a pasta machine in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pasta machine when the cup lid is opened in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of a pasta machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 4 This is a first flowchart of a control method for a noodle machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 5 This is a second flowchart of a control method for a noodle machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0041] 1. Machine base; 11. Water tank; 12. Processing chamber; 121. Dough mixing chamber; 1211. Dough mixing rod; 122. Extrusion chamber; 1221. Extrusion screw; 123. Die head; 124. Cup lid; 13. Dough inlet; 14. Step section; 15. Motor;

[0042] S100, surface water mixing stage;

[0043] S200, kneading and mixing stage;

[0044] S300, extrusion stage;

[0045] S400, proofing stage. Detailed Implementation

[0046] To more clearly illustrate the overall concept of the present invention, a detailed description will be provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the invention; however, the invention may be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Therefore, the scope of protection of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0047] It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement of each component in a certain specific posture (as shown in the figure). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0048] Furthermore, the use of terms such as "first" and "second" in this invention is for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. Additionally, the technical solutions of the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but only on the basis of being achievable by those skilled in the art. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or impossible to implement, the user should consider such a combination of technical solutions to be non-existent and not within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

[0049] This invention provides a method for making noodles using a pasta machine. In one embodiment of this invention, reference is made to... Figures 1 to 3The noodle-making machine includes a base 1 with a motor 15, a control unit located within the base 1, and a processing chamber 12 connected to the base 1. The processing chamber 12 includes a kneading cavity 121 with a built-in kneading rod 1211, a cup lid 124 on top of the kneading cavity 121, an extrusion cavity 122 with a built-in extrusion screw 1221, and a die head 123 for extruding dough. The kneading cavity 121 and the extrusion cavity 122 are connected by a dough inlet 13. The presence of the dough inlet 13 inevitably causes some flour to fall into the extrusion cavity 122 when the user adds flour, especially adhering to the surface of the extrusion screw 1221. A stepped portion 14 is formed between the side wall of the dough inlet 13 and the tail of the extrusion screw 1221, where dough clumps are most likely to adhere. A water tank 11 is provided on the main unit to automatically supply water to the kneading cavity 121, enhancing the intelligence of the noodle machine. The dough mixing chamber 121 also includes a cup lid 124 covering the dough mixing chamber 121, and a die head 123 connected to the opening end of the extrusion chamber 122.

[0050] It should be noted that the noodle machine described in this invention is not limited to this embodiment and Figures 1-3 This type of vertical noodle machine with automatic water addition, as well as vertical noodle machines with manual water addition, should all be within the scope of this invention.

[0051] Typically, reference Figure 4 and Figure 5 The dough-making method of a pasta machine includes at least a flour-water mixing stage and a kneading stage, as detailed below:

[0052] S100, Flour-Water Mixing Stage: The flour-water mixing stage includes the dough mixer 1211 stirring flour and water in a first direction to form dough flakes.

[0053] S200, Kneading and Dough Mixing Stage: The kneading and dough mixing stage has multiple time cycles, including a first time cycle and a second time cycle. The first time cycle includes the dough mixing rod 1211 stirring in a first direction, and the second time cycle includes the dough mixing rod 1211 stirring in a second direction. The first direction and the second direction are opposite. In the second time cycle, there is a gap between the dough flakes in the extrusion chamber 122 and the die head 123.

[0054] The preset time for the dough-water mixing stage is T1, and the preset time for the kneading stage is T2, where 1 / 3 ≤ T2 / (T1+T2) ≤ 5 / 8.

[0055] In this scheme, firstly, during the flour-water mixing stage, the dough mixer 1211 stirs the flour and water in a first direction to form small dough flakes, ensuring the initial kneading of the flour and water. Specifically, in the second time cycle, it facilitates the dropping of the dough flakes formed in the flour-water mixing stage into the extrusion chamber 122 through the dough inlet 13, allowing the dropped dough flakes to adhere to the dry flour on the surface of the extrusion screw 1221. In particular, the dough flakes with adhered dry flour can also exert a pushing force to push the dough flakes remaining on the side wall of the dough inlet 13 near the tail of the extrusion screw 1221 into the dough mixing chamber 121. In the first time cycle, the dough mixer 1211 stirs in the first direction, which helps to further knead the dough flakes with adhered dry flour, and at the same time, it can also separate the dough flakes remaining on the side wall of the dough inlet 13 near the tail of the extrusion screw 1221 from the side wall, thereby allowing them to enter the dough mixing chamber 121 more effectively. Therefore, by setting multiple time cycles in the kneading stage, and each time cycle including a first time cycle and a second time cycle with opposite stirring directions, the kneading rod 1211 can smoothly allow the dough clumps adhering to the side wall of the dough inlet 13 to enter the kneading cavity 121 to continue kneading, thereby improving the uniformity of dough-water mixing during the kneading step. In particular, it can avoid material residue at the step 14 formed by the tail of the extrusion screw 1221 and the side wall of the dough inlet 13, thus ensuring that the edges of the noodles will not have burrs and the center of the noodles will not be white, resulting in noodles that are chewy and have a good taste. In addition, the amount of dough clumps and / or dry flour remaining on the side wall of the extrusion screw 1221 and the dough inlet 13 is greatly reduced, making it easier for users to clean after making noodles and improving the user experience.

[0056] It should be noted that the gap between the dough flakes in the extrusion chamber 122 and the die head 123 means that the dough flakes will not exit through the exit hole of the die head 123. Of course, there can also be a certain gap between the dough flakes and the exit hole.

[0057] Furthermore, referring to Table 1 below, which shows the relationship between the T2 / (T1+T2) value and the dough kneading, extrusion, and residual flour content, it can be seen that the magnitude of the T2 / (T1+T2) value has a significant impact on the dough kneading, extrusion, and residual flour content.

[0058] Specifically, when the preset time T1 for the flour-water mixing stage and the preset time T2 for the kneading stage satisfy the condition 1 / 3 ≤ T2 / (T1+T2) ≤ 5 / 8, the residual flour flakes and / or dry flour on the sidewalls of the extrusion screw 1221 and the dough inlet 13—that is, the residual flour flakes and / or dry flour at the step portion 14 formed between the sidewall of the dough inlet 13 and the tail of the extrusion screw 1221—are pushed back into the kneading chamber 121 and have sufficient time to knead with the flour flakes formed in the flour-water mixing stage, thus ensuring the uniformity of flour-water mixing. In particular, when T2 / (T1+T2) is 1 / 2, no burrs will appear on the edges of the noodles during the extrusion stage, no white core will appear in the noodles, the noodles will be chewy and have a good texture, and there will be almost no flour residue in the processing chamber 12.

[0059] When T2 / (T1+T2) is less than 1 / 3, the dough-water mixing stage takes too long. This can cause the dough flakes at the step 14 to be compacted under prolonged compression, adhering more firmly to the step. Consequently, during the kneading stage, they are difficult to detach from the step 14 and enter the kneading cavity 121 to fully participate in the kneading process, resulting in poor dough-water mixing and affecting the overall quality of the dough flakes. Not only is it easy for wet dough to stick to the kneading rod 1211, but the noodles are also wet and sticky when extruded. Furthermore, there is a significant amount of dough flakes that cannot be extruded due to adhesion in the processing cavity 12, as well as residual dry flour in the extrusion cavity 122, leading to material waste and a poor user experience.

[0060] When T2 / (T1+T2) is greater than 5 / 8, the mixing time of the flour and water is too short, which easily leads to uneven distribution of flour and water in the mixing cavity 121. This can result in the accumulation of dry flour and uneven mixing, with some dough being overly moist and others being very dry. Once there is too much dry flour, more dry flour will enter the extrusion cavity 122 during the kneading stage, causing dry flour to accumulate at the exit hole of the die head 123, affecting the subsequent extrusion efficiency. Moreover, the poor uniformity of flour and water mixing leads to the accumulation of flour at the step 14 formed between the side wall of the dough inlet 13 and the tail of the extrusion screw 1221. During extrusion, the dry flour makes it difficult to extrude, and the noodles are prone to having a white center.

[0061] Table 1. Relationship between T2 / (T1+T2) value and dough mixing, extrusion results, and residual flour content.

[0062]

[0063] It should be noted that the first direction in this scheme refers to the direction in which the face rod 1211 rotates counterclockwise when viewed from above, and the second direction refers to the direction in which the face rod 1211 rotates clockwise when viewed from above.

[0064] More specifically, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, T1 is 2 minutes and T2 is 2 minutes, that is, T2 / (T1+T2)=0.5, which is convenient for setting the program and can also bring good dough-making effect.

[0065] Furthermore, a step portion 14 is formed between the side wall of the dough inlet 13 and the tail of the extrusion screw 1221, that is, the top surface of the tail of the extrusion screw 1221 and the side wall of the dough inlet 13 form a step portion 14, so that the extrusion screw 1221 and the dough mixing rod 1211 will not interfere with each other when they are working.

[0066] However, since the bottom surface of the kneading rod 1211 is higher than the bottom surface of the kneading cavity 121, the kneading rod 1211 cannot stir the step portion 14 when it rotates in one direction. The dough flakes that fall and stick to the step portion 14 will always remain there. This not only affects the dough-to-water ratio in the kneading cavity 121, but also causes dough flakes to remain and be difficult to clean after dough preparation. Therefore, in this solution, during the first time period, the side wall of the step portion 14 faces the stirring direction of the kneading rod 1211, so that the kneading rod 1211 separates the dough flakes from the side wall of the step portion 14. During the second time period, the side wall of the step portion 14 faces away from the stirring direction of the kneading rod 1211, so that the kneading rod 1211 drives the dough flakes stuck to the side wall of the step portion 14 towards the inside of the kneading cavity 121. In this way, by continuously pushing the dough flakes at the step 14 in opposite directions during the first and second time cycles, the dough flakes are loosened relative to the step 14 and easily pushed back into the kneading cavity 121 for kneading. At the same time, in order to ensure that after the dough flakes separate from the step 14 during the first time cycle, the stirring rod can still mix the dough flakes together with the dough flakes in the kneading cavity 121, the second time cycle needs to be shorter than the first time cycle.

[0067] Preferably, the first time period is t1 and the second time period is t2. By setting t1≥2t2, the pasta machine first brings the dry flour on the extrusion screw 1221 in the extrusion chamber 122 and the dough flakes stuck at the step 14 into the dough mixing chamber 121 in the early stage of the first time period. In the later stage of the first time period, there is enough time to knead the dough flakes and dry flour brought into the dough mixing chamber 121 with the dough flakes that were originally in the dough mixing chamber 121, further ensuring the uniformity of the flour-water mixture.

[0068] In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the second time period is located between the dough-water mixing stage and the first time period. By setting the first second time period between the dough-water mixing stage and the first time period, the dough flakes formed in the dough mixing chamber 121 after the dough-water mixing stage can fall from the dough inlet 13 into the extrusion chamber 122 during the second time period, thereby adhering the initial dry flour remaining at the extrusion screw 1221 to the dough flakes. Then, during the first time period, the dough flakes adhering to the dry flour can be pushed back into the dough mixing chamber 121 to continue kneading, forming a uniformly mixed dough flake.

[0069] It is understandable that after the dough-water mixing stage is completed, the first time cycle can be started first, and after the first time cycle is completed, the second time cycle can be started, and so on, until the kneading stage is completed.

[0070] Furthermore, in some preferred embodiments, the time period also includes a third time period located between the first and second time periods. During the third time period, the control unit controls the motor 15 to stop working so that the dough-mixing rod 1211 is stationary, and both the first and second time periods are longer than the third time period.

[0071] Since the stirring direction of the dough mixing rod 1211 in the first time cycle is opposite to that in the second time cycle, sufficient time needs to be allowed for the motor 15 to perform reverse rotation. Therefore, a third time cycle is set between the first and second time cycles to ensure that the motor 15 can smoothly achieve reverse rotation and reduce moisture loss caused by the heat generated by dough flakes during stirring. At the same time, to avoid affecting the overall dough preparation time, both the first and second time cycles are set to be longer than the third time cycle.

[0072] For example, in a preferred embodiment, after the automatic noodle-making function (including quick noodles, chewy noodles, etc.) is selected and activated on the pasta machine, the dough mixing rod 1211 stirs the flour in the first direction for 5 seconds to make the flour spread evenly in the dough mixing chamber 121. After 5 seconds, the water pump begins to introduce water into the dough mixing chamber 121 through the water outlet. The dough mixing rod 1211 stirs in the first direction at a predetermined speed for 105 seconds to mix the flour and water to form dough flakes, which can also be called a flour-water mixture. At this point, the flour-water mixing stage ends.

[0073] After the water-flour mixing stage is completed, the control unit stops the motor 15 for 2 seconds. This reduces water loss due to heat generated by the dough flakes caused by the mixing rod 1211, and also allows time to change the mixing direction. Then, the mixing rod 1211 rotates in the second direction for 5 seconds, causing the dough flakes that have been mixed with water in the mixing chamber 121 and the drier dough flakes at the step 14 to fall onto the extrusion screw 1221. After being extruded and shaped by the extrusion screw 1221, these falling dough flakes come into contact with and mix with the initial dry flour remaining in the extrusion chamber 122 (i.e., the dry flour that fell into the extrusion cylinder when the user made flour).

[0074] Understandably, the second time period, i.e., the time for the dough roller 1211 to rotate in the second direction, can be selected within 3 to 8 seconds. If the second time period is too short, the falling dough flakes will not be compressed into larger flakes and will not have sufficient contact with the dry flour in the extrusion chamber 122, and will not be able to return to the dough chamber 121 through subsequent reversal (i.e., the dough roller 1211 stirring in the first time period). If the second time period is too long, the dry flour will be compressed at the dough exit die 123, and the falling dough flakes will not be able to mix with the dry flour, which may cause the roller to become stuck when extruding the dough.

[0075] After the second time cycle ends, motor 15 stops for 2 seconds, and then enters the first time cycle, that is, the dough mixing rod 1211 rotates and stirs in the first direction for 11 seconds. In this stage, the dough flakes that were squeezed into shape in the extrusion chamber 122 in the early stage are brought back to the dough mixing chamber 121 by the extrusion screw 1221; in the later stage, the dough flakes brought back to the dough mixing chamber 121 participate in the secondary kneading, so that the overall dough flakes in the dough mixing chamber 121 are more evenly mixed with water.

[0076] A time period is defined as the time from the end of the surface water mixing stage to the end of the first time period, and multiple time periods can be set.

[0077] For example, in a preferred embodiment, to further ensure that the dough clumps adhering to the step portion 14 are completely pushed back into the kneading cavity 121 for kneading, the kneading stage includes 2 to 8 time cycles. After multiple time cycles and multiple forward and reverse rotations, no dough clumps remain at the step portion 14, and the dough clumps in the kneading cavity 121 become dough clumps with uniform internal and external moisture. At the same time, the stirring speed of the kneading rod 1211 in the first direction during the first time cycle is set between 45 r / min and 55 r / min. This avoids the dough clumps at the step portion 14 being carried to the side wall of the inlet 13 away from the tail of the extrusion screw 1221 when the speed is too high, and also avoids the dough clumps at the step portion 14 being unable to separate from the step portion 14 and enter the kneading cavity 121 due to the pushing force of the kneading rod 1211 when the speed is too low. By setting the stirring speed of the dough mixing rod 1211 in the second direction to be between 45 r / min and 55 r / min during the second time period, the dough mixing rod 1211 can effectively drive the dough flakes adhering to the side wall of the step 14 toward the inside of the dough mixing cavity 121. When the rotation speed of the second time cycle is too low, the force of the dough-mixing rod 1211 pushing the dough flakes in the dough-mixing cavity 121 to push the dough flakes at the step 14 is insufficient, making it impossible for the dough flakes adhering to the side wall of the step 14 to move towards the inside of the dough-mixing cavity 121. When the rotation speed of the second time cycle is too high, the force of the dough-mixing rod 1211 pushing the dough flakes in the dough-mixing cavity 121 to push the dough flakes at the step 14 is too great, which easily cuts the dough flakes at the step 14, causing some dough flakes to enter the dough-mixing cavity 121, while the other part remains at the step 14. No matter how much the dough flakes in the dough-mixing cavity 121 are pushed afterward, they cannot touch this part of the remaining dough flakes, thus failing to apply thrust, resulting in the presence of residual dough flakes at the step 14.

[0078] Furthermore, in the dough-making method of the pasta machine of the present invention, the flour-water mixing stage is no later than the kneading stage. By setting the flour-water mixing stage to be no later than the kneading stage, the pasta machine can initially and evenly mix the flour and water during the flour-water mixing stage, avoiding the accumulation of wet dough or dry flour in the kneading cavity 121. Since a step portion 14 is formed between the side wall of the dough inlet 13 and the tail of the extrusion screw 1221, this is where dough clumps are most likely to remain. However, after the flour-water mixing stage, only a portion of the dough clumps remain at the step portion 14. Building upon this foundation, the dough kneading stage begins. The periodic forward and reverse rotation of the kneading rod 1211 pushes the dough flakes at the step 14 back into the kneading cavity 121 to participate in the kneading. It also allows the dry flour that initially entered the extrusion cavity 122 through the flour inlet 13 to first adhere to the dough flakes at the step 14 before being pushed back into the kneading cavity 121, reducing the amount of dry flour residue at the extrusion screw 1221. This significantly reduces the likelihood of dry flour accumulating at the exit hole of the extrusion die 123 during extrusion, ensuring smooth dough extrusion. Especially when the pasta machine is equipped with a blower below the extrusion cylinder to blow air onto the noodles and prevent them from sticking together, the reduced amount of dry flour also helps to disperse the dry flour and prevent soiling the work surface.

[0079] Preferred, Reference Figure 4 This method first involves mixing the flour and water, then kneading the dough. After the kneading stage, the dough can be extruded.

[0080] S300, Extrusion Stage: The extrusion screw 1221 rotates in the second direction to extrude the surface.

[0081] After the overall dough kneading stage, you can directly proceed to the extrusion stage, which helps to reduce the dough-making time. For those who don't have much time in the morning, this dough-making method saves a lot of time while still allowing you to enjoy fresh and healthy noodles.

[0082] In another method of surface preparation according to the present invention, refer to Figure 5 To make the noodles more chewy, a resting stage is set between the overall kneading stage and the extrusion stage.

[0083] S400, Proofing Stage: The proofing stage includes the control unit controlling the dough-mixing rod 1211 and the extrusion screw 1221 to stop rotating when the total working time of the dough-water mixing stage and the kneading stage is detected to reach a preset time threshold.

[0084] The rested dough is more uniform inside and out, and its gluten development is enhanced, resulting in noodles that are more chewy and have a better texture. Specifically, when the total working time of the dough-water mixing stage and the kneading stage reaches a preset time threshold, the control unit stops the rotation of the kneading rod 1211 and the extrusion screw 1221. This time detection eliminates the need for manual intervention, making operation more convenient for users.

[0085] In another method of dough making according to the present invention, the flour-water mixing stage includes a first mixing stage and a second mixing stage, and the kneading stage is located between the first mixing stage and the second mixing stage. That is to say, the overall dough making process is to first enter the first mixing stage, then enter the kneading stage, and after the kneading stage, enter the second mixing stage, and after the second mixing stage, enter the extrusion stage or the resting stage.

[0086] The first mixing stage is to initially mix the flour and water evenly, preventing wet dough or dry flour from accumulating in the kneading cavity 121. The kneading stage is to bring the dough clumps adhering to the step 14 and the dry flour extruded by the extrusion screw 1221 back into the kneading cavity 121, allowing these dough clumps and dry flour to fully participate in the kneading with the dough clumps in the kneading cavity 121, reducing material waste and facilitating the cleaning of the step 14 and the extrusion screw 1221. Furthermore, a second mixing stage is set after the kneading stage, allowing the dough clumps and dry flour returning to the kneading cavity 121 to fully participate in the kneading with the dough clumps that have been in the kneading cavity 121, resulting in uniform moisture inside and outside the dough clumps, and extruded noodles that are elastic, smooth on the surface, and free of white core.

[0087] Furthermore, since the first mixing stage has already initially mixed the flour and water to form small dough flakes, the second mixing stage aims to further improve the uniformity of moisture in the dough flakes from the outside in, thus preventing white centers when extruded. Therefore, the second mixing stage does not need to be very long. Preferably, the working time of the first mixing stage can be set equal to that of the second mixing stage to avoid excessively long noodle-making time and negatively impacting the user experience. At the same time, it also prevents the second mixing stage from being too short, resulting in insufficiently uniform mixing of the dough flakes and white centers in the noodles when extruded.

[0088] For example, when the overall dough mixing stage takes 4 minutes, the first mixing stage takes 1 minute, the kneading stage takes 2 minutes, and the second mixing stage takes 1 minute.

[0089] The technical solutions protected by this invention are not limited to the above embodiments. It should be noted that any combination of the technical solutions of any embodiment with one or more other embodiments is within the protection scope of this invention. Although the invention has been described in detail above with general descriptions and specific embodiments, some modifications or improvements can be made to it, which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, all such modifications or improvements made without departing from the spirit of this invention are within the scope of protection claimed by this invention.

Claims

1. A method for making noodles using a pasta machine, the pasta machine comprising a base with a motor, a control unit disposed within the base, and a processing cavity connected to the base, the processing cavity comprising a kneading cavity with a built-in kneading rod, an extrusion cavity with a built-in extrusion screw, and a die head for extruding noodles, the kneading cavity and the extrusion cavity being connected through a dough inlet, the noodle-making method comprising an overall kneading stage, the overall kneading stage comprising: The dough-water mixing stage includes the dough mixer stirring the flour and water in a first direction to form dough flakes; Kneading and mixing stage: The kneading and mixing stage has multiple time cycles, including a first time cycle and a second time cycle. The first time cycle includes the kneading rod stirring in a first direction, and the second time cycle includes the kneading rod stirring in a second direction. The first and second directions are opposite. In the second time cycle, there is a gap between the dough flakes in the extrusion chamber and the die head. A step is formed between the side wall of the dough inlet and the tail of the extrusion screw. The dough flakes located on the step are continuously pushed by the first and second time cycles, so that the dough flakes are loosened relative to the step and easily pushed back into the kneading chamber for kneading. The time cycle also includes a third time cycle between the first and second time cycles. In the third time cycle, the control unit controls the motor to stop working so that the kneading rod is in a stationary state. The preset time for the dough-water mixing stage is T1, and the preset time for the kneading stage is T2, where 1 / 3 ≤ T2 / (T1+T2) ≤ 5 / 8.

2. The noodle-making method of the noodle machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The water-flour mixing stage is no later than the kneading stage.

3. The noodle-making method of the pasta machine as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The dough-water mixing stage includes a first mixing stage and a second mixing stage, with the kneading and mixing stage located between the first mixing stage and the second mixing stage.

4. The noodle-making method of the pasta machine as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The working time of the first mixing stage is equal to the working time of the second mixing stage.

5. The noodle-making method of the pasta machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The second time period is shorter than the first time period. In the first time period, the sidewall of the step is facing the stirring direction of the dough mixing rod, so that the dough mixing rod separates the dough flakes from the sidewall of the step. In the second time period, the sidewall of the step is facing away from the stirring direction of the dough mixing rod, so that the dough mixing rod drives the dough flakes adhering to the sidewall of the step towards the inside of the dough mixing cavity.

6. The noodle-making method of the noodle machine as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The first time period is t1, and the second time period is t2, where t1 ≥ 2t2.

7. The method for making noodles using a pasta machine as described in any one of claims 1, 5, or 6, characterized in that, The first time period and the second time period are both longer than the third time period.

8. The method for making noodles using the pasta machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The kneading stage includes 2 to 8 time cycles. In the first time cycle, the kneading rod is stirred in a first direction at a speed between 45 r / min and 55 r / min. In the second time cycle, the kneading rod is stirred in a second direction at a speed between 45 r / min and 55 r / min.

9. The noodle-making method of the noodle machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The second time period initially falls between the surface water mixing phase and the first time period initially.

10. The method for making noodles using the pasta machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The dough-making method further includes: Extrusion stage: The extrusion screw rotates in the second direction to extrude the surface; Between the overall dough kneading stage and the extrusion stage, there is also a resting stage. The resting stage includes a control unit that stops the kneading rod and the extrusion screw from rotating when the total working time of the overall dough kneading stage reaches a preset time threshold.

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