This dough is then pulled to about an arm span's length. The puller then makes a loop with the dough, joining the two ends into one clump of dough and inserts his fingers into the loop to keep the strand from sticking to itself. Doing this, the pull has doubled the length of the dough while fractioning its thickness. This process is repeated several times until the desired thickness and quantity is achieved. Some pullers dip the strands into flour between stretching phases to keep them separated. When flour is used, there generally is a final slap of noodles against the prep board to remove excess flour.