De invention relates to a method for manufacturing a strand of dough, comprising the steps for rolling out a piece of dough, subsequently rolling up the rolled-out piece of dough in order to form the strand of dough, and finishing the strand of dough.

The invention also relates to a device for manufacturing and finishing a strand of dough.

When manufacturing a strand of dough, it is usual to start with a piece of dough that is generally spherical. This piece of dough is rolled out and subsequently rolled up and, depending on the desired final product, for instance french loaf, given its desired length. In doing this, the end of the strand of dough acquires a spiral configuration in cross-section, as shown in figure 1. In longitudinal cross-section, the interior of the strand of dough is of a shape as shown in figure 2. The structure of the end of the strand of dough is non-homogeneous and holes are present on the ends of the strand of dough. For many final products this structure of the strand of dough is un¬ desirable for reasons of quality and so when finishing the strand of dough, the ends of the strand of dough are cut off. Moreover, the ends of the strand of dough will sag relatively more than the rest of the strand of dough, caused, among other things, by the presence of holes when the strand of dough is placed in a pan and by the struc¬ ture of the dough itself. As a consequence hereof, the

final product will have an irregular shape.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a method and device for manufacturing a strand of dough, wherein the cutting off of the ends of the strand of dough will no longer be necessary in most cases, and wherein the final product has a regular shape.

For this purpose a method is provided of the type men- tioned in the introduction, which is characterized accor¬ ding to the invention in that when finishing the strand of dough, the ends of the strand of dough are exposed to underpressure after having been rolled up.

Also provided is the device for manufacturing a strand of dough, which device is characterized according to the invention in that the device has means for exposing the ends of the strand of dough to underpressure when fin¬ ishing the strand of dough.

By exposing the ends of the strand of dough to underpres¬ sure, the ends obtain a homogeneous structure and the ends are free of holes. As a consequence ^' hereof, the ends of the strand of dough do not need to be cut off for further working. Moreover, what is also achieved with this method is that dough material of the strand of dough is sucked towards the ends, whereby these ends obtain the shape that is desirable in view of the further working, and for instance show an almost equal thickness or at least an equal thickness with regard to the rest of the strand of dough. When such a strand of dough is placed in a pan, the strand of dough will sag so little that the shape is substantially maintained, that for instance a far more regular shape is obtained than when the ends are not exposed to underpressure. In the latter case, the ends sag relatively much. Moreover, the structure of the dough itself will become more compact on the ends as a conse-

quence of the underpressure, thus making the ends of the dough less liable to sag than is the case with ends that are not exposed to underpressure.

It is preferred that both ends of the strand of dough are simultaneously exposed to underpressure.

In order to further ensure that the ends of the strand of dough, if necessary, are given at least a similar thick- ness in relation to the rest of the strand of dough and preferably an excess thickness with regard to the rest of the strand of dough, an embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterized in that the means are movable towards each other. Hereby, the dough material of the strand of dough is compressed, thus ensuring that the ends, also as a consequence of the fact that the structure of the dough has become more compact as a consequence of the underpressure, acquire a greater thickness, wherein the ends do not sag. It has been found that this also renders it possible to give the strand of dough a more reproducible length.

Some embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example by means of the drawing, in which:

figure 1 shows a cross-section of a strand of dough, made in the customary manner,

figure 2 shows a longitudinal cross-section of a strand of dough, made in the customary manner,

figure 3 shows a cross-section of a strand of dough, made in accordance with the method of the invention,

figure 4 shows a longitudinal cross-section of an end of a strand of dough, made in accordance with the method of the invention, and

figure 5 shows a schematic top view of a device according to the invention with a means for exposing the ends of a strand of dough to underpressure.

Figures 1 and 2 show a cross-section and a longitudinal cross-section respectively of an end 1 of a strand of dough 2, made in the customary manner. The strand of dough

2 has a spiral structure with holes 7. This structure is undesirable for some final products. In order to obtain a final product of satisfactory quality the end 1 of the strand of dough, which end has the undesirable structure, is cut off during the finishing process.

However, when the ends of a strand of dough in accordance with the invention are exposed to an underpressure, for instance by creating a vacuum, then the ends 1 of the strand of dough 2 acquire a homogeneous structure without holes. This structure is shown in cross-section in figure

3 and in longitudinal cross-section in figure 4. This homogeneous structure renders the cutting off of the ends superfluous, thereby reducing waste and speeding up the process of manufacturing the strand of dough.

The underpressure also causes the ends of the strand of dough to acquire a greater thickness than the rest of the strand of dough, which is conductive to obtaining a final product with a regular shape.

A device 4 for manufacturing a strand of dough 2 from a spherical piece of dough 3 is represented schematically in top view in figure 5. The device 4 comprises means 5 for rolling out and rolling up the piece of dough 3 so that a strand of dough 2 is formed. The device 4 further com¬ prises means 6 for exposing the ends 1 of the strand of dough 2 to underpressure. These means 6 can for instance be formed by suction nozzles 8 connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) . Other embodiments of the means 6 are also

possible, provided that the means 6 expose the ends 1 to underpressure.

In order to provide an even greater thickness of the ends of the strand of dough with regard to the rest of the strand of dough, should this be required or desired, the means 6 are movable towards each other. Since the strand of dough, having a length of for instance 600 mms from one end to another, is in general supported on a relatively rough surface over a length of the remainder of the strand, that is to say the strand of dough between the ends, in this example over for instance 550 mms, the dough of the strand of dough is compressed at the ends, thus giving the ends a greater thickness. This promotes the regularity of the shape of the final product.

The use of the suction nozzles renders it possible to give any desired shape to the ends of the strand of dough in a known manner. The shape of the suction nozzle can herein be adapted to that desired shape. Thus it would be concei¬ vable, with suitably shaped suction nozzles, to give the ends of the strand of dough a sloping shape, as in the case of a french loaf, wherein it is then also ensured that the ends are compact and homogeneous.