HK40047683A - Improved food dough-stretching machine and method for stretching a mass of dough - Google Patents

Description

Improved food dough stretching machine

The present invention relates to an improved machine for stretching food dough pieces, in particular pizza dough pieces. There are a number of different foods made from food dough that is shaped to form a substantially flat structure, such as pizza, tortillas, focaccia bread (focaccia bread), arabic and pita bread.

To ensure that such a food is not only palatable but also aesthetically pleasing, it must be stretched sufficiently in addition to preparing an optimal mix.

The food dough may be stretched in different ways.

A first method involves the use of a wooden rolling pin to place and stretch the mixture on a support surface, preferably made of wood or marble.

Rolling pins are used primarily to stretch a piece of dough having a particular size, which does not require a particular thinness.

In particular, after the flour is sprinkled on the plane, the mixture is placed in the middle and compressed with a rolling pin to make it compact, trying to keep it in the desired shape.

The pin is then rolled over the dough to expand it further, and the hands slide over the pin by moving inwardly and outwardly, and vice versa.

The use of rolling pins makes the stretching operation easier than manual methods, as will be described below, but this results in a greater loss of fermentation gas from the mixture, which is particularly important for the success of the final product, since these are responsible for the expansion of the dough in the oven.

Another method involves manually stretching the dough.

First, in this way the flour must be sprinkled on the hand and work plane and then lightly pressed with the fingers in the middle of the mixture to help the movement of the fermentation gas towards the edges.

The dough is then slowly and thoroughly stretched from the middle outward without compressing it circumferentially so as not to leave the dough pan without edges.

Next, the dough continues to expand, rotating the dough and turning it over frequently, each time adding flour to the flat.

This method is a method used at home and in a home cooking restaurant, including an appropriate amount of location setting.

Although this manual technique allows to obtain a savoury product with a typical homemade shape, it requires a long production time.

This disadvantage is particularly evident in restaurants where the chef/pizza maker must not only cook but also stretch the dough.

It is known that the dough cannot be stretched before actually being required on the table to prevent spoiling the taste and crispness of the final product.

It follows that at certain times of the day, so-called peak hours, a greater number of operators are required to stretch the dough and effectively meet the consumer's needs, and to improve the production time of the restaurant

Furthermore, when stretching of flat food dough is performed on an industrial level, the production time is a parameter inversely proportional to the profit, and therefore, it must be kept as limited as possible.

Thus, the use of professional automatic machines to stretch food dough has been established in recent years.

One known dough stretching machine has one or more rollers of adjustable thickness between which the dough pieces are inserted.

In order for the dough piece to enter between the rollers, the dough piece must be slightly compressed in advance, and then gradually thinned as it passes through the rollers later.

Disadvantageously, this machine has the disadvantage that after use, the stretched dough still requires manual finishing to ensure a self-made appearance and to oxygenate the product prior to filling.

One of the main variants of the roller machine described above is provided with a plurality of inclined rollers and a hook configured to round the dough pieces.

In particular, a first roller stretches the mixture, which then falls onto a hook and rotates, thereby directing the mixture to a larger second roller below.

The dough thus processed is in the shape of a circle with a limited thickness.

The same inconvenience is posed with machines of this type, which require final manual finishing to ensure the quality of the product.

Another drawback of this machine is that it is not suitable for thick-edged pizzas, so-called crusts, such as the neapolitan pizza.

Another major variant of the roller machine is to have a plurality of rollers developed in parallel, which allows the dough to be stretched according to a rectangular profile.

Inconveniently, such machines are not suitable for making dough with a disc-like shape, since in this case the operator needs to perform the rotation of the dough in each passage between one roller and the other.

Another known type of dough stretching machine is that described in document EP 1129621. Such machines comprise a shaft vertically mounted on a supporting structure, which shaft is connected at its lower end to a radial arm which performs the stretching of the dough piece. Furthermore, the shaft is mechanically associated with a rotation mechanism designed to cause the shaft to rotate about its central axis of symmetry, which rolls the dough piece on the surface on which it rests.

Disadvantageously, however, such dough stretching machines are also not suitable for use in making pizzas having a crunchy and self-made appearance.

Another dough stretching machine belonging to the prior art is provided with a mechanical manipulator comprising a plurality of extenders movable according to a radial direction.

In such dough stretching machines, the dough piece, which has been partially flattened, is arranged below an extender to allow its insertion into the middle of the mix, from where, by means of a radially outward movement, such an extender stretches by its pushing:

the radial movement of the extenders is allowed by the particular structural configuration of the movement means associated therewith, which in particular comprises an integral rotary actuator connected to a rotatable disc having a plurality of helical slits defined on the surface thereof.

In addition, they comprise a plate arranged below the rotatable disc, on the surface of which a plurality of radial slits are defined.

Rotation of the rotatable disc, and hence movement of the helical slit defined therein, causes movement of a pin associated with the extender means, which in turn is associated with the extender.

In practice, such a pin is arranged through the spiral slit and the radial slit, so that the rotation of the disc causes the displacement of the above-mentioned pin along the spiral slit according to the development direction of the radial slit, causing the movement of the extender associated therewith, from the centre of the plate towards the outer edge of the plate.

A first drawback of such dough stretching machines consists of the fact that: the radial movement of the extenders is carried out by means of complex constructional solutions, which make the production and maintenance of the above-mentioned machines particularly difficult over time.

Another drawback associated with the above-mentioned machines is the quality of the final product obtained.

In practice, the plate of dough is stretched by pulling the dough through an extender which dips into the mixture, causing a portion of the dough piece to move from the center outwards, forming a so-called crunchy crust.

In this way, thicker outer edges can be obtained, but thinner central portions, which are easily broken when subjected to traction, thereby accidentally forming holes in the final product. The present invention aims to overcome all the above disadvantages.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to make a dough stretcher for stretching food dough that is easy to produce and maintain.

Again, the aim of the present invention is that the dough-stretching machine described above allows to achieve a planar shape of the food dough starting from the mix mass, without having to include a previous operation of compressing the mix.

Another object of the present invention is to produce a machine that performs stretching of the food dough according to movements substantially equivalent to the manual method, so as to obtain as far as possible a final product that looks like a homemade one.

Another object of the invention is that the product obtained from the machine described above does not require a subsequent manual finishing step.

The above object is achieved by implementing a dough stretcher for stretching food dough according to the main claim.

Further features of the present machine are described in the associated dependent claims. During the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the above objects and the advantages that will be mentioned hereinafter are highlighted with reference to the attached drawings, given by way of non-limiting example, in which:

figure 1 shows an axonometric view of the dough-stretching machine of the invention according to a preferred embodiment;

figure 2a shows a top isometric view of the dough stretching unit of the machine of the invention of figure 1, when the shaping element is in the central position;

figure 2b represents a bottom isometric view of the dough-stretching unit of figure 1 when the shaping element is in the central position;

figure 2c shows a top isometric view of the dough stretching unit of the machine of the invention of figure 1 when the shaping element is in the extended position;

figure 2d represents a bottom isometric view of the dough stretching unit of figure 1 when the shaping element is in the extended position;

figure 3 shows a top view of the dough stretching unit of figures 2c and 2d when the shaping element is in the extended position;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional side view of the dough stretching unit of FIG. 3 according to the section line IV-IV;

figure 5 shows a bottom view of the dough stretching unit of figure 3;

figure 6 shows a top view of the dough stretching unit of figures 2a and 2b when the shaping element is in the central position;

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional side view of the dough stretching unit of FIG. 6 according to the section line VII-VII;

figure 8 shows a bottom view of the dough stretching unit of figure 6;

figure 9 shows a bottom perspective view of the shaped body according to the invention. A dough stretcher as subject of the invention is shown in fig. 1, indicated as a whole by the numeral 1.

The dough stretcher 1 of the present invention is particularly suitable for stretching dough for food, such as pizza, tortillas, focaccia bread (focaccia bread), arabic and pita bread.

In particular, such a dough stretching machine 1 is advantageously used to perform stretching of the dough used for making pizzas in commercial and industrial enterprises and restaurants and in all those places where a large quantity of dough needs to be stretched rapidly, while maintaining the quality obtained when the stretching operation is performed manually by an operator.

The dough-stretching machine 1 of the present invention comprises a frame 11 defining a vertical axis Y and preferably provided with two portions: a first upper portion 12 and a second lower portion 13, which are coaxial with each other according to the above-mentioned vertical axis Y.

A support plane 14 for the dough piece to be stretched is associated with the frame 11, in particular with the second lower portion 13, and a dough stretching unit 2 arranged on top and coaxial to the support plane 14 according to a vertical axis Y, and movement means 15 for moving the support plane 14 towards/away from the dough stretching unit 2 are associated with the first upper portion 12.

In particular, as shown in fig. 1, the dough stretching unit 2 is arranged at least partially in the first portion 12, while the movement means 15 of the support plane 14 are preferably arranged at least partially in the second portion 13.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the dough stretching unit 2 and/or the movement means 15 comprise one or more scraper elements, not shown in the figures, which prevent flour and other solid or liquid foreign bodies from entering the first portion 12 and the second portion 13, to ensure the cleanliness and good functioning of the mechanisms arranged in these two portions.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the movement means 15 are of a type known per se and comprise a telescopic shaft 15a, shown in figure 1, for raising the support plane 14 towards the dough-stretching unit 2. Such movement means 15 may be configured differently and they preferably cooperate operationally with the dough stretching unit 2, as will be described in detail hereinafter.

According to a variant of one embodiment of the invention, it is not excluded that such movement means 15 can also comprise sensors suitable for defining and/or displaying the position of the support plane 14 along the vertical axis Y.

One example of the above-mentioned movement means 15, which should not be considered as limiting, is the presence of an electric gear motor configured to transmit a rotary motion to an eccentric linkage which converts the rotary motion into a linear motion, adjusting the movement of the support plane 14 in raising and lowering by means of the telescopic shaft 15 a.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the support plane 14 is moved in a vertical direction according to the axis Y, but this movement can be horizontal or of a hybrid type according to alternative embodiments of the invention is not excluded.

With regard to the dough stretching unit 2 of the present invention, it comprises a shaping body 21, which shaping body 21 is configured to be in contact with the dough piece to be stretched.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the shaping body 21 comprises a shaped plate provided with a plurality of projecting elements 21a, each projecting element 21a having a convex external profile facing the support plane 14 and being suitable for coming into contact with the dough piece to be stretched, as shown in figure 9.

Advantageously, the shaping body 21 is configured such that it exerts a pressure on the dough piece to be stretched, thus contributing to an optimal distribution of the fermentation gas contained therein.

Again, advantageously, the projecting elements 21a reproduce the shape of the fingers of the operator, so that the pressure exerted by the shaping body 21 on the dough piece mimics the movement of the fingers of the operator, stretching the dough piece, thus achieving a final product as similar as possible to the one manually obtained according to the manual method.

However, it is not excluded that such protruding elements 21a may have a different shape than previously indicated, according to alternative embodiments of the present invention.

Likewise, it is not excluded that such shaped body 21 is free from such protruding elements 21a and has a smooth or rough plan shape.

Returning to the dough stretching unit 2 of the present invention, which further comprises a plate 22, a plurality of radial grooves 22a are identified in the plate 22, each radial groove 22a slidably housing a shaping element 3 configured for stretching the dough piece.

Such a plate 22 is preferably a fixed plate.

Again, preferably, the above-mentioned plate 22 also comprises a plurality of through holes, having mutually equal or different dimensions, suitable for allowing the passage of elements configured for promoting the displacement of the shaped bodies 21, as will be described in detail later.

The dough-stretching unit 2 further comprises kinematic means 4, which kinematic means 4 are suitable for moving the shaping element 3 itself along the radial groove 22a towards or away from the vertical axis Y.

In particular, as can be seen in the section of fig. 4 and 7, the kinematic means 4 comprise a threaded shaft 41, this threaded shaft 41 having one end 41a operatively connected to the motorised means 5 and an opposite end 41b rotatably associated with the aforementioned plate 22.

Furthermore, the kinematic means 4 comprise: a central core 42 provided with a nut 42a fixed to the threaded shaft 41; and a plurality of rods 43, each of which has one end 43a hinged to one of the shaping elements 3 and an opposite end 43b hinged to the central core 42.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the kinematic means 4 also comprise a sensor configured to identify and/or signal the position of the central core 42 along the vertical axis Y.

Advantageously, such kinematic means 4 are configured to effect compass movements of the plurality of rods 43 and consequent displacements of the shaping element 3 itself towards or away from the vertical axis Y.

In particular, the compass movement is understood to mean a movement similar to the movement of the rod of a compass, in which the fulcrum is arranged at the central core 42.

In detail, the compass movement is effected when the motorised means 5 rotate the threaded shaft 41, causing a downward or upward displacement of the central core 42, depending on the direction of rotation of the threaded shaft 41 and the consequent movement of the end 43a of each rod 43 and of the shaping element 3 articulated thereto.

Advantageously, the particular geometric configuration of the dough-stretching unit 2 and the compass movement characteristic of the present invention allow the shaping element 3 to move at varying speeds.

In detail, in fact, thanks to the particular rod system 43, the radial speed of the profiled elements 3 decreases progressively as one approaches the edge of the plate 22.

Such a feature allows for a finer shaping of the dough piece relative to prior art dough stretching machines, thereby further preventing tearing and/or tensioning of the stretched dough piece.

As shown in fig. 4 and 7, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each shaping element 3 comprises a sliding body 31, which sliding body 31 is arranged through a corresponding radial recess 22a of the plate 22 and has a first portion 31a and a second portion 31b, the first portion 31a being arranged above the plate 22 and articulated with one of the rods 43, the second portion 31b being arranged below the plate 22 and associated with a shaped body 32 for stretching the dough piece.

As can be better seen in fig. 2b and 2d, the shaped body 32 has an L-shaped profile, in which there can be seen a larger side 322 and a smaller side 321, the larger side 322 being associated with the second portion 31b of the sliding body 31, while the smaller side 321 is adapted to at least partially immerse into the dough piece according to a method which will be described in further detail below.

However, it is not excluded that according to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the shaping element 3 has a different configuration from the one specifically described provided, the shaping element 3 comprising at least one portion suitable for interacting with and promoting the stretching of the dough to be stretched when the central core 42 is lowered and the plurality of rods 43 are extended according to what was previously indicated.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dough-stretching unit 2 also comprises means for displacing the shaped body 21, as shown in figures 4 and 7, the shaped body 21 comprising at least one thrust pin 23, one end 23a of which 23 is associated with the central core 42, while the opposite end 23b is adapted to contact the shaped body 21 and push the shaped body 21 downwards in the vertical direction Y towards the support plane 14, when the central core 42 is lowered.

In particular, the displacement of the shaped body 21 is facilitated by the aforementioned abutment of the thrust pin 23, the thrust pin 23 passing through one of the through holes present on the plate 22 during the downward movement of the central core 42 and pushing the shaped body 21 towards the support plane 14.

Advantageously, this displacement movement of the shape-forming body 21 is regulated by an elastic unit 24, which elastic unit 24 preferably comprises a pin 241, which pin 241 is arranged through the plate 22 and has an end 241a associated with the shape-forming body 21.

A handling head is defined at the opposite end 241b of the pin 241, and an elastic element 242 is arranged outside the pin 241 and comprised between the above-mentioned handling head and the plate 22.

As shown in the sectional view of fig. 7, when the profiled element 3 is in the central position, i.e. when the profiled element 3 is arranged substantially in the middle of the plate 22 close to the vertical axis Y, the central core 42 is in a raised position with respect to the plate 22, while the end 23b of the thrust pin 23 is a free end.

Furthermore, in such a position, the elastic element 242 of the elastic unit 24 is in the rest configuration and exerts an elastic force on the maneuvering head, such as to resist the weight of the shaped body 21 and keep the pin 241 and the shaped body 21 associated therewith in the raised position.

The term "raised position" is understood to mean that the shaping body 21 is in this position close to the lower surface of the plate 22 facing the support plane 14.

Preferably, in such raised position, at least a section of the lower surface of the plate 22 is in contact with the aforementioned shaped body 21.

Operationally, when the threaded shaft 41 is rotated by the motorised means 5, the nut 42a of the central core 42 displaces the central core 42 towards the lower plate 22, and consequently the thrust pin 23 through the through hole, until it comes into contact with the shaped body 21. The end 23b of the thrust pin 23 abuts against the upper surface of the shaping body 21, pushing it towards the support plane 14 to press and place thereon the dough piece to be stretched.

Once the dough piece is pressed, the reversal of the direction of rotation of the threaded shaft 41 causes a lifting movement according to the direction of the vertical axis Y of the central core 42 and brings the thrust pin 23 into a position in which the end 23b is not in contact with the shaped body 21.

Thus, at the end of the pushing of the shaped body 21 by the thrust pin 23, the elastic element 242 of the elastic unit 24 returns to the rest configuration, bringing the shaped body 21 back to the raised position.

Advantageously, the downward movement of the shaped body 21 pressing against the dough piece to be stretched makes it possible for the dough-stretching machine 1 of the invention to stretch the dough piece without having to include a prior operation of partial stretching, as in the machines of the prior art.

This advantage is particularly important in the case of pizza, where the dough piece to be stretched generally has a substantially circular shape.

The operation of the dough stretcher 1 can be better explained by the description of the method for stretching dough pieces using the dough stretcher 1 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, including variations that must be considered part of the present invention.

Such a method is particularly suitable for stretching food dough pieces to make products such as pizza, tortillas, focaccia bread (focaccia bread), arabic and pita bread.

In particular, this method initially comprises arranging the dough piece to be stretched on the support plane 14.

Such operations may be performed manually by an operator or automatically using positioning means, which are known per se to experts in the field.

When the dough piece to be stretched is on the support plane 14, the support plane 14 is raised according to the vertical direction Y towards the dough stretching unit 2 until the dough piece is pressed at least partially towards the shaping body 21.

Such lifting operation occurs when the dough-stretching unit 2 is configured in a position in which the plurality of rods 43 are arranged in the extracted position, i.e. when the shaping elements 3 are arranged at the periphery of the plate 22 and the action of the thrust exerted by the shaping body 21 due to the abutment of the thrust pins 23 of the central core 42 brings the thrust rods in the lowered position, as previously described and represented by way of example in figures 2c, 2d and 3 to 5.

Advantageously, when the dough piece is pressed against the shaping body 21, the protruding elements 21a press against the dough piece, contributing to the distribution of the fermentation gas of this dough piece, further reproducing the shape of the operator's fingers, mimicking the movement of the fingers of the same operator who manually stretches the dough piece in a homemade manner.

Following such pressing operation, the method of the invention comprises lowering the support plane 14 with respect to the shaping body 21 according to a vertical direction, and then, or simultaneously with such operation, raising the central core 42 by rotation of the threaded shaft 41, so as to also raise the ends 43b of the plurality of rods 43 articulated to the central core 42, causing the compass movement of the plurality of rods 43 to stop and consequently the shaping element 3 articulated to the ends 43a of the aforesaid rods 43 to slide along the radial groove 22a of the plate 22 towards the vertical axis Y.

The configuration of the dough stretching machine 1 is exemplarily shown in fig. 2a, 2b and 6 to 8, the dough stretching machine 1 having the shaping element 3 in a central position, substantially at the vertical axis Y.

Returning to the method of the invention, it then comprises lifting the support plane 14 towards the dough-stretching unit 2 according to the vertical direction Y until the shaping element 3 is at least partially immersed in the dough piece.

Preferably, such an elevation is carried out until the smaller sides 321 of the shaped body 32 of the shaping element 3 at least partially immerse into the dough piece to be stretched.

The central core 42 is then lowered by means of rotating the threaded shaft 41, so as to extend the plurality of rods 43 and move the shaping elements 3 towards the periphery of the plate 22, so that the shaped body 32 of each shaping element 3 moves a portion of the dough mass radially towards the periphery of the plate 22, thereby stretching this dough mass, preferably forming a dough disc.

Even more preferably, the radial movement of such a shaping element 3 is predetermined so that a portion of the dough piece moves towards the periphery of the plate 22 and forms a thick edge of dough at the periphery of the stretched dough piece.

This creation of a thick edge is particularly advantageous in operations where the dough piece is stretched to produce a so-called Neapeltan pizza (Neapeltan pizza) with an outer dough crust.

Preferably, once the dough piece is stretched, the method comprises a further operation of lowering the support plane 14, allowing the operator or automatic means to take the stretched dough piece and direct it to other possible operations to make the final product, such as filling, cooking, packaging, etc.

It is explicitly stated that the raising and lowering operation of the support plane 14 is preferably performed by means of the movement means 15.

Thus, in accordance with the above, the dough stretcher of the present invention achieves all of the intended objectives.

In particular, due to the simple rod construction of the dough stretching unit, the objective of manufacturing a dough stretching machine for stretching food dough that is easy to produce and maintain is achieved.

Again, the dough-stretching machine of the present invention allows to make planar shapes of food dough, such as the substantially circular shape of the mixture of pizzas, starting from a relatively compact dough piece, without comprising a prior operation of compressing the mixture itself.

Furthermore, thanks to the shaping elements and the shaping bodies, the dough-stretching machine of the present invention stretches the food dough according to a movement substantially comparable to that of a manual method, so as to obtain a final product that looks like a homemade one.

Last but not least, the product obtained by the method for stretching dough using the dough stretcher of the present invention does not require successive manual finishing steps, thus saving time.

Claims (9)

1. A dough stretching machine (1), particularly suitable for stretching pizza dough, said dough stretching machine (1) comprising a frame (11) with which are associated:

-a support plane (14) for the dough piece to be stretched;

-a dough stretching unit (2), said dough stretching unit (2) being arranged on top and coaxial with said support plane (14) according to a vertical axis (Y) defined by said frame (11);

-movement means (15) for moving said support plane (14) towards/away from said dough stretching unit (2);

the dough stretching unit (2) comprises:

-a shaping body (21), the shaping body (21) being configured to be in contact with the dough piece;

-a plate (22) in which a plurality of radial grooves (22a) are identified, each radial groove (22a) slidably housing a shaping element (3) for the dough piece;

-kinematic means (4) adapted to move the shaping element (3) along the radial groove (22a) towards or away from the vertical axis (Y);

characterized in that said kinematic means (4) comprise:

-a threaded shaft (41) operatively connected at one end (41a) to the motorised means (5) and rotatably associated at the opposite end (41b) with the plate (22);

-a central core (42) provided with a nut (42a) fixed on the threaded shaft (41);

-a plurality of rods (43), each rod being hinged at one end (43a) to one of said shaping elements (3) and at the opposite end (43b) to said central core (42);

the kinematic means (4) are adapted to effect, when the motorized means (5) rotate the threaded shaft (41), a compass movement of the plurality of rods (43) and therefore a displacement of the shaping element (3) towards or away from the vertical axis (Y), causing a downward or upward displacement of the central core (42) according to the direction of rotation of the threaded shaft (41).

2. Dough stretching machine (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said dough stretching unit (2) comprises means for displacing said shaped body (21), said shaped body (21) comprising at least one thrust pin (23), said thrust pin (23) having one end (23a) associated with said central core (42) and an opposite end (23b) adapted to push said shaped body (21) when said central core (42) is lowered, and an elastic unit (24) for controlling the displacement of said shaped body (21) when said shaped body (21) is moved by the abutment of said thrust pin (23).

3. Dough stretching machine (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said elastic unit (24) comprises: a pin (241), said pin (241) being arranged through said plate (22) and having one end (241a) associated with said shaped body (21) and a handling head defined at the opposite end (241 b); an elastic element (242) arranged outside the pin (241), comprised between the manipulating head and the plate (22).

4. Machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said shaped body (21) comprises a forming plate provided with a plurality of projecting elements (21a), each having a profile directed towards said support plane (14) and adapted to come into contact with said dough piece to be stretched.

5. Machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each shaping element (3) comprises a sliding body (31), said sliding body (31) being arranged through the equivalent of said radial groove (22a) and having a first portion (31a) arranged above said plate (22) and hinged to one of said rods (43) and a second portion (31b) arranged below said plate (22) and associated with a shaped body (32) for stretching said dough piece.

6. Dough stretching machine (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said forming body (32) has an L-shaped profile, wherein a larger side (322) associated with said second portion (31b) of said sliding body (31) and a smaller side (321) adapted to at least partially immerse into said dough piece are identified.

7. Method for stretching a dough piece using a dough stretching machine (1) according to any of claims 1 to 6, comprising the following operations:

-providing a dough piece to be stretched on the support plane (14);

-lifting the support plane (14) towards the dough stretching unit (2) according to the vertical direction (Y) until pressing the dough piece at least partially towards the shaping body (21) when configuring the dough stretching unit (2) in a position such that the plurality of rods (43) are arranged in the extended position and the shaping element (3) is arranged within the plate (22) perimeter;

-lowering the support plane (14) with respect to the shaped body (21) according to the vertical direction (Y);

-raising the central core (42) by means of rotating the threaded shaft (41) so that the shaping element (3) slides along the radial groove (22a) towards the vertical axis (Y);

-raising the support plane (14) towards the dough stretching unit (2) according to the vertical direction (Y) until the shaping element (3) is at least partially immersed in the dough piece;

-lowering the central core (42) by means of rotating the threaded shaft (41) to extend the plurality of rods (43) and moving the shaping element (3) towards the periphery of the plate (22) to stretch the dough piece.

8. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said operation of lowering said support plane (14) with respect to said shaped body (21) is carried out simultaneously with said operation of raising said central core (42) by means of rotating said threaded shaft (41).

9. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that said operation of lowering said support plane (14) with respect to said shaped body (21) is carried out after said operation of raising said central core (42) by means of rotating said threaded shaft (41).