How to dry butterfly noodles

When making handmade noodles, the main three-stage drying method is used, that is, pre-drying, main drying, and final drying. These are the three main stages. The first stage is to remove some moisture from the surface of the noodles to reduce the moisture to a certain level, and then start the main drying to speed up the evaporation of moisture. Finally, final drying is the final moment of drying the noodles, and the moisture in the noodles is completely evaporated.

How to dry butterfly noodles

The first stage: pre-drying

The purpose of this stage is to quickly remove the free water from the surface of the wet noodles. The air temperature should generally be 2~4℃ higher than the room temperature. Hot air is used to set the wet noodles so that they absorb more heat and prepare for the large amount of water evaporation in the next stage. However, it should not be too high, as it will cause the noodles to absorb heat too quickly and become soft, droop, stretch and break. The air humidity should be low, generally controlled at around 80%. Dehumidification should be strengthened to accelerate the evaporation of free water on the surface of wet noodles to enhance elasticity. The wind speed should not be too strong, and the moisture content of noodles should be reduced from 30% to 27~28%, accounting for about 9% of the total water removal.

Second stage: main drying

This is the main stage of dehydrating wet noodles. As the temperature in the drying room continues to increase, the noodles continue to absorb heat, which speeds up the evaporation of moisture. At the same time, the temperature of the noodles themselves rises rapidly, and the internal moisture can diffuse to the surface better. While a large amount of water is evaporating from the noodles, the evaporation rate of the surface water is precisely controlled to keep the drying speed inside and on the surface of the noodles basically consistent, avoiding shrinkage and compaction due to excessive evaporation of surface water. It is particularly noteworthy that the evaporation and condensation of water on the surface of the noodles can gelatinize the starch, improving the fineness and glossiness of the product surface. The main drying stage requires increased air volume to reduce the moisture content of noodles to 15-16%, accounting for 75% of the total water removal.

Stage 3: Complete Drying

This is the final stage of drying noodles, which is characterized by the evaporation of a large amount of moisture in the noodles. At this stage, no humidification is used, and a breeze is blown to use the residual heat to remove excess moisture, making the noodles gradually elastic and strong and becoming a semi-finished product. However, due to the high temperature of the noodles, drying continues. The cooling rate should be 0.5℃ per minute, and the final moisture content of the noodles is about 14%.