SE539725C2 - Pizza crust and a method for making a pizza type product - Google Patents

Abstract

13ABSTRACT The inVention concerns a pizza crust for production of a baked pizza, Where said piz-za crust con1prises a first side for resting on a pizza-baking support such as a trayduring baking and a second side for supporting additional food products/ toppings.The crust is further characterized in that at least part of the first side being in directcontact With the pizza-baking support after baking is cheese. The inVention also con- cerns a method for large-scale production of pizza crusts.

Description

Title:'Pizzzai crust find. a. iiietliod for iiialfziiig a pizza type riroduct'feclinical ß'ielil: The present invention concerns a pizza crust and its method of preparation.More particularly, the present inventiori relates to a. pizza crust tor productionof a baked riizza. in aecordaiice With the introdllc-tory part of claini l and aInetlicnl for 1arge~scale Vprodiic-tirrn of pizza citusts.

Background and prior art: Pizza. is a pcipillai" food item two-rid vvidc. .A goal 'for many :riizza inaiititfactttlrersis to produce ioizzzi type løroducts pimwidirig both a tasteful. and othcrtviseærppealirig :food rarocliict and distinguisli themselves from connpeltitors. llorexainjple, conventional pizzas iiiclude a pizza crust, a layer (if sziuce, a layer ofCheese and other toppiiigs such as ineat and/or vegetahles. Consumers iiiayfchoose between thin crust, thick crust, deep dish crust and other crustVariations. Since pizza retailers generally start With the same type ofingredients it is a major challenge to present a pizzai-tyiie piroduct in a mannerthat distinguisli 'their product ironi the pizzzft-typc products of theircompetitors. (lin-ie approacli in order to achieve tlic desired distinctiïife characteifistics liaslvccn. to vary the distributioii of cliccsc ciuriiig the .manuiactilririg_ Llïïxariirriles ot"this l-zirid. of apprr>acl1.e-s may hc :liiuiiul in piibliczatiinis lÅJS572Ü9f98,W(')9725870, JPÃHl(J'757t)9 and 1154283431. all disclosc roizza-type productsforming a. niiiltilayerr pizza. *with a layer ot” eheese betxveen the att-vn ïlíirst Iayersrelative to the An ziltcriiativc ziprnwiaicl1. is fourui in publications WOZOOÖllSLtSl, IJS2006240153, [íS2006240l54, [586479087 andJP200403302l all discloses a pizza~t§ype product liaviiig a chcese filled edgecrust. Simic of these gísulfwlicaifliions z-ilso diselose methods [for distributingcheesc over the pizza in order to niaiiuifaicttirc stich produc-t.s. Filrtlier, publication LlS201Ü0926_l9 discloses a irretliod forørnaniifacttiring a. c-lieese'layer *with even tliiokriess and particular size. ln the lotter case the Cheese layer does iiot cover the edge crust. And. ltlnally, publication {_“JS2(lt)6()040037 disc-loser a lïiizzai »vhere the trzfiditioriitl 'lilour 'lnasecl erust lias been cc>n1pplet:elyreplaced by cheese in order to create a pizzwtypc- lfirodtict With low amount ofcarb ohy drates .

'I (l h.) lnttrcidticiitg a significant annount of cheese in the drnlgh, either in the baseiportirtii or in the erlge crust, ltas 'proven efficient: 'to iiiuniwnt-'e not cmiy theconsiniiei'”s gustaitory iieifc-eptioii, but also to add a. riositive 'visual a.nd./orsonic perception during consurnptiion. F or example, biting and clievvirig pizzacrust containing a high ainourit of cheese causes a. crispy sound that rnanyConsumers find pleasant and/or intriguing.

With the exception of iUiS2006Û040037 norle of the above publicationscliscltises a. pizza crust ivhere a significant airiount of clicesc cinnstitiltes thebase layer riff 'the laizza crust. 'lfhis is not surprisiyng siitcc i'l: is generallylielievcd that such a ivroduct Woulrl not be fcasible, primarily due to the norrlionding propertly lietweeii. inelted and tlour bz-ised (lougli. 'Thedisclosnre in llêšltlilóiltlßltlüfi? cloes not in any *lift-ry tveslieni this preiutlice. (änthe contraryj, in the tlisclcisure it is stressed that the pure at' the baseand. edge rnust form a stable bond with pure cheese on the top of the product,thereby sealing the contents or toppings.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a pizza crust for abaked pizza and such a pizza that represent a clear :alternative to the pizzas ofthe prior art, while at the saine time irrxproves the corisuitiers gustatory. visualatid/or sonic perception. Lwoinlpared to the conventional pizza.

Silmlllary of the inventiun: The present intfrflitiriii is set. 'lšknrth and charaicterized in the niain claims, vvhilethe depend ent. clairns (lescribe otliei' chartictfzristics fofthe inventiriii.

In particular, the invcritioil concerns a. 'pizza crust for production of a bakadpizza, where strid iiizza crust cornprises a. 'first side for testing on a pizza.-bzikirig support such as a. tray during baliing and a second side tor supportingadditional food iarodlicts / trulpiuirtgs. 'The inverltiriri is further characterized inthat at least part of the first side being in direct contact 'with the pizza-batltingsupport after baking is cheese. Niote that the pizza crust niay also be Lised asthe base for other 'food products having siinilar ccimpositiori as a baked pizza,for exznnple pics, lasagnes, quiches, etc. in a preferred ernbotliinerit more than 50 'Vi of 'the liirst side being; in direct contact with the pizza-baiking stiraptirt after linking is Cheese.

In an even more preiierred etnbodiineiit more than 75 % of the tirst side being indirect contact With the riizza-løakiiig support atter laaking is clieese. ln z-inotlier rireiterrerl einhcidimetit the second side of the pizza. erust is free ofclieese. ïftenoe, the- .iriveiitive balted pizza may include the lnizza c-rust in aeeordaiicevvitii any of the above mcntioned features and. further cornprise additionalfood products / toppings situated on top of the second. side.

The invention also conceifrts a rnethod tor large~scale production of pizza crust inticcordaiice tvith any of the above meiitioitecl 'tfet1tt1res. Éllhe Iïiethod coinprises leastthe Ifollcntviing steps: (a) distributing att fuiriount of cheese on at. least. one pizza.~hz-.tki.i.ig supppturtfront at least (nte clieese clistrihiitiiig device sind. (b) distributing at. .lertst one layer of clieese fiee dottgli. on top ofthe choose[iom ut least. orte dough distributing device to at least inartly c-over the amount ofc-lleese on the at le-ast one pizzadvaking support.

The additional inethod steps for production of the pizza crust may include (c) pressing the dough assembly obtained in steps (a) and (b) to form atleast partly the desired pizza shape., (d) rising/ ternienting the dough assembly and (e) baking the tiougli assemlnly' in a dedicated oven at an elevatecltenipcrattuife, prefcztably above 373 lá, therebyf achíevittg the inventive pizza. crustwith a laase layer of c-.heese After an iii-.itional treezing ot' the pizza. crfust, additional food f trsiapirtgs is ttdded. 'lffhe seqrierlc-e til" irietliiirl. step (c) and (d) niay he inteifchanged. .l-“urtlien tliese tosteps inay tvith 'arlvantage be repeafterl at least one time.

The tenn layer should. be interpreted broadly to iiielticie tihfgec-“ts of any shapesadded onto the iiizzzvbzakirig SUppon; and onto the elleese in case of cheese andclieese :free dough, respectively; The sliapes may be disc-s, badis, siiheifes, cubes,etc, or a. eonltaiilatioin. thereof. .ln a pzreíferred eiiibtidiirtent 'the follotving additional. steps aife performed :prior toorte or both of steps (a) and (b): ~ trz-tnsfczrririg the at least one jnizzaébaking stipport on a first corive-yftirhelt with a constant, or near constaiit, initial velooity (iff) to a first predefineddistance from the bett ppositiori of the corresptniding at least: one distributingdettfic-e in step (a) or (b) and ll) IQUI ~ cleeeleralting the at .least orte pizzrt-balçing support front the initialtfeltjieity (to) to a distrihutiitig Velocity (va) »vithitl said :first t3rede~ilfi ned distanceby* means of the first coittfejyor helt.

Further, the method. may also comprise an. additional step performed after(though not necessarily immediately after) a. decelerating step related to oneor both of the steps (a) and (b): ~ ac-c-elerating the at leastt pizza-baking support from the distributingVelocity (vd) to the initial "tvclocity (m) ttfithitt a. seeoticl predelïitied distanceironi. the helt position. til” the eorrestionding at. least one clistrilnuting detfic-e instep (a) or (b) by means of the liiifst cotweyotf helt.

Nrtte there no lot-ver litnitrttitttis on the ture-defined clistartee. Further, thedecelerfttion arid aeeeleratiott rrtay also irielude an abrupt stop front the initialtVelocity (to) and an alttfttlpt start to ,reac,h the initial tfelocíttf (to), respectively.

In another preferred ernbodimeitt at least one of the at least one eheesedistributing device comprises a funnel situated directly above the firstconveyor helt supporting the at least one pizza-baking support, Wherein thefunnet is coníigured to guide the arnount of elteese ortto the at least' one pizza-bakiiig support cluring step (af). At least spatt of the Cheese distributing device,for exanratale the ilíuïtnel, rnay folloitnf the movement of the :first etlnveytir helt. ln yfet :another prefitarred. entlmclintettt: the metltocl eomprises conttttlling thevcltncity' (v) of the al: least one tnizzzebaking support lny meaits of the :lfirste-ortveyoi' bett in order to ertsure that. cyeles intfolviitg at least the steps (_ a) and(b) :tre eornpletettt at least 600 times per hour, iriore prcferably at least S00tintes per tittar, ttittst prelïerably at least llltll) tintes per ltout, for example1200 times per liour. ln yet :another preferred etnhoditrneiit the inethttd. comprises transferriiig theamotunt of cheese to the at least one clieese distrihutíng device hy mottot; of asecond etnnveytir helt, "fhe prirticittirtg crf a predeterntirted atrtourtt (tf eheese'lfroin the second ecrnveytitf helt to the ttizztvbfalting support inay he ppetfiforntetthy nteaiis of moving a. tfltirt of the second eomfeyor helt situated aliove thepizza-hztl-:ing stttfiptiart a certain distartee baekvvartls al the moitieiit the-porticatiiitg is to ctcc-ttr. ln yet another preferred entbodittiertt the rnethod eorriprises eoolirtg theainouiit of cheese to an average terriperafture below 2.98 prior to step (a),more prelferalily helttw 288 lí, for example within a tentperature range of 283 l. (l ïJl K to 28"? K. .fatter eoolitig the amount ot oheese to an aveifage telnperatttlfebelotv 298 K the tiisIJribIJaion of the ainount of Cheese (Jtlto the sec-ondeonveyor belt is preferablyfr even, or nearly even. Iitwvfever, any otlterdistribution fortn lnay be envisaged. ' in 'yet another preferred ernbodiriterit at least part of tlt1e second conveyor' ibeltis_ situated in a separate Cooling eliamber kíept at an average ambientternperature below the average ambient teirnperature prevailing duringpertforttlaitee twfi-Itetlmd steps (_ a) and (b).

At least one of tlte ttietliod steps Inentioitteti above may aclventurouslg-f becontrttl.letl lny tiedieatecl. computer? irnplententeti stilfttßwztre. in the follotving description, nutnerous specific tletails :tre intifiuduced to:tvrovide a thorough understztnclsing ol'e1nbo<1i1:ne11t.s wait" the clairrieti tiroduct artdmethod. One skilied. in the relevant art, lioweveij, t-vill lfeeognize tha.t theseenibodinients can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, orwith other ingredients, method steps, etc. In. other instances, weil-knownproducts or clperations are not shown, or are not. ciescribed :in detail, to avoidobscuring aspects of the disclosed eznbodiinerits.

Brief description of the dirawings: lïigure l is a scltetnatic view of a tuizza product ctuntirising a tvizzzi c-nfust inric-ctirdi-ince with 'the inventitui: Iiigtlre 2 is a scheniatie view of an zlpparatitts used to larepare a pizza. erustvvith a loase layer of elie-ese in aoeordaitcze tvitli a tfirst e1'1'1l1otii1'1'1ei1.t crf theirwention, Iiigure 3 is a schematie 'tfievtf of an appettiitlts used to pregpare a. pizza crustivvith a base layer of cheese in accordaltce with a second enibtiditneiit of theinventicin and .lïigure 4 is a ilow tiíagrani shota-rilig the main tnethod steps tfor jpreparing apizza erust with ttippiiigs.

Detailed description of the irwention 'fhe present irrverrtiori provides a pizza erust and a method that allows'production of pizzas and pizzadike products 1 eoniprising a base layer 2 vvitlia signiticfint znncnint. of elteese 3. A. lnizzzi l. cornprising a bakad pizza, erust 2litade tiwufn the iiitfentive elieese containiiïig laizza tittuglt is illustrated l Ü [OLis 6 scliernzitiezrlliøxf in. tigure l as silpprirteti on a loizzat strpivrirt 4 such ar. a tray. 'ÉFhepizfza ertrsi: 2 eomtirises a hrittom layer 221 eontac-tíng the taizza. sutiprirt. 4 an d atop layer Qb supporting additional frnod sine-h as toppittigs fi. ”llie trnjipitngs 5111215; be for example 'toniiatrn sattee, arid ham. 'Ifhe lower ltalf of thepizza erust 2 lias the distinguished feature of containing a significailt amountof Cheese 3, for example a Cheese With low fat content and With Variousspe-Cies added. The Cheese 3 enhaiices the gustatory, Visual and/or sonicperception for the consumer ctnnpz-trecl to the conventional 1312221. tvitlloiit sttehan invwentive cheese base layer. The pizza stiraporft 4 ís preferalfvly rnade of, oretnfererl tvith, rion-atíelring' material such as ïlaeuftei* díshes or clisltes coatedvvith po]vtetratluoroetllyle-rte (i*'lI'I1"Iä'j). liigures 2 and 3 show tive riiffiferent enibririíiiierits of a method shox-xfirrg theinairt preparation steps for producing the looked pizza erust 2 in tigtire l,while figure 4 sliotvs the Steins in form til' a tltiw tlirrgraln. The productionfatcility rnay be lvased on the well known Ball-anri-Press (BaP) technology. Inboth figures 2 and 3 the prepar-ation steps are illustrated starting frorn anempty tray 4 (mid lettmost part) to a "linislied baked pizza Crust 2 resting onthe tray 4 (lower, rightmost part). A highly sehemat.ie drawings of thedistributionr systelns for eheese 7,10~l.2 and Clieese Free dough 8 (tipper part)is also shovm. The diflftlerenee between the 'two erntbridirnerits is thedistribution o t' elieese 3 on a c-orttinrrotis oonveyor 'helt ll). Figure Zl shorvs thesituation tvhere the clieese 3 is ciistríbutetl et-'enlyf on the ibelt 10 and figure 3slutit-ve the situation »where the 3 ls stlptnlietl hy portlott on the bell: 10.lloxnfever, the invenftirtri eovcrrs all eheese (lisltrihuticrris rrarigiirig 'ifroirt a :iíillyeven dristributí on (iii gure 2) "to a. fully pcirticined distrfilvtltitari (figure 3).

Prior to the produretitiri, rthe eheese- 3 stored in a stort-ige room 12 in vvhietithe arnbíertt atrnosphere is lrept in an average temperature ('1“¿) lower than theaverage temperature (Ta) inside the producfttion hall 13. With iiartie-tilarreference to figure 4 tlie rrrtiduetiorx process of pizza Crusts 2 vrith ibase layerof choose 3 iiiay in genrerzrl be Categorízed in two subfproeesses (IJI) and onerniairt process: ~ main iaroeess: Cïonnplefte Inroeess frorn supply offtrays / ruizza supports 4on tray etinveyttni' helt 9 to :tifeezirtg f” storing lvalre-d pizza eruat: 2 tvitli toppings » cheese process (1): Stering and trarisporting elieese 3 'for arrangenieritinto pizzan support 4, and - choose-free tiotigh process (11): Preparitig, tiorrniiig amd 'tratistoortingclieeseditse dtiugli 6 for z-.irraiigenieiit into ppizzzi snppinoiit 4.

TJuring the initial steps of the inaiii inroccss the trays 4 are first transpoited toa. cleariitig facility by use ot' a dedicated carousel or other iorin of transportingmeans. After Cleaning the insid.e of the tray 4 it is inserted With fat and thenplaced on a. tray conveyor belt 9. in parallel to the above nieiititined initial steps of the inaiii rirocess, oralternatively' iirior to the aliove mentionetl _initiail_ steris, the clieese 3, 'that hasbeen ltept: in a cool envircrririitf-viit, tor example in. an. isolated *room lll tvitlfi aNlii; based etfapciraitor, is clistribiitecl. onto a cledicatecl cheese eonvoyor bolt 10iincl. then trzinsportecl to a choose distríbutíng cleviee 7 for e-ontrollecl feedíiig /portioning of clieese onto the hottoin of one of the trays 4, for example byinovirig part of the clieese eonxfeycir bolt 10 ai p1'e-det.e1ïn1i11cd distr-incebackwartl at the inomerit of feeding. The eheese distributing clevice 7 is infigure 2 and 3 illustratecl as ai funnet into *which the correct portion of cheese3 is dropped from the belt 10. The purpose of the advanced Cooling of thecheese 3 is tWofold: Pirstly, sufficieiit Cooling of the cheese 3 lowers the riskof cloggiing, in any of the coinponeiits 7,10 being in direct contact With thechetase. Scen-nelly, better food preservation is obtained. Norznally the roomtiiniiivcffrattiiflz: of a dough tirodtictitiii ífacility 13 is kept. zibove ZQÜC vøhich isconsidered too high for eatilfiicieiit perçforinanee oftihe athcive olieese process (i).län' nifany' types of clieeses the inreferretl z-.ixfertige 'tenitierztture (IL) for avoidingcloggilig lies »within the 'teniperzittire ratige of 1tI~15°C prior to tray feeding.l-ltiiifever, the ideal tenilnerature niay xfziry it depends strongly on thespecific c-iieese Vtnfoperties. 'Ålfiie supply of Cheese 3 on the clieese eonvtæyorhelt lt) rnary be iierftiriiied by a dedicated. clistrilvutirig maehirie (not sliovtfri)situated at least partly in the storage room 12 or sliortly after leaving thestorage room 12, tvliich distributing machine inay' include various clieesedistributing tools such a roller / druin *with 'finns arranged as a coinb. iior the cheese process (l) the cheesedree tiough princess (II) inny z-ilso beperiornietl tJz-irallel to the initial steps of the main inroeess or zilternatitfelytiaifior to the initial steps. As shown in 'lfigure 4 the cheese 'free citiugli 6 isprepared in ticccirdarice itfith Vvell knowvii techniques, that is, zidcling Iiecesstiryfratt* ingredients (autoinatiez-illy or iiiaiiiialiy) into a inixer and cuttiiig theresulting dottigh into desired lnortioned. "The dough 6 is then lieing forineti intothe reciuitect slialae stieh as a 'hall by ineans of tiedicated rounder, and subseqiaently' tirarisptirted to a tiougli tiistrfilaiiting dett-rico S? in figures 2 and 3illnslraiterl as a. ftinnel. ln a. prior art tray conveyor belt 9 the trays 4 are iiioverl at a constanto1øeratior1al tfelocity (iaf). At the rnomerit crf dough distribution, rnechariicalstoppers are abruptly Stopping the trays 4 in the dough distribution positiondirectly belovv the dough distributing device 8, followed by a sudden releasecatisirig a. quick. accelerliticin to the above rrreruioned operaticinzrl Velocity (_ 14-).These alvruivt stops 'and starts .hafve the riisiirfrvzintazgge that there is a significantrisk tili' clisplacing the dougli 6 lfrorri its intended position irisitle the 'trz-iy 4."this lfiroblerri. is even higher vvheti clieese 3 is [Ted into the tray 4 since thetotal t-iiitoutit. til' clieese 3 is norifntillyf ttitnrsidertibly' lighter than the totalanioiirit. of riougli 6 on each 'traiy 4. lvloifeover, a solution using abrupt stopsand starts would rirtibaliiy result in an unsatistiictrrity* distribution). precision, atleast for the cheese 3. "fheret"ore, it is proposed to introduce a tray eonveyorbell. 9 which gives the user the possibility of clontrolling the belt Velocity (v)by means of motors having dedicated retardation and acceleration curves. Thebeit 9 may thus be sloWed down to a distribution Velocity (vd) in a controlledinanner Within. a certain distance front the relevant distribution position,follotved by a ccintrcilled ziccelerzttirin 'up to the desired (iperaticinal Velocity(vf). The Velocity ot' the helt 9 liiay therefore vary from m; (which rnay be Û oreven riegatixfef) rip to vf. The Velocity variation should be zidjristecl by the userin order to .reaelr the required tray handling rate oli" the mticiuc-ttiorr tíicilityf /bakery, lfor exarnple ll-ïtitl trays per? limur.

After the initial steps of the main tirocess, the stipplyf of the tixed arnount ofCheese 3 onto the 'traty 4 and the supply of the clieesewiree dough 6 onto thetray 4, the 'irvain process is continued by appljyirig the rcquirefl aniount of fatto the cheese containing dough 3,6, piercing the resultirtg dough 3,6 into aprover for fermentation (_ indicated in figures 2 and 3 with short arrows), eitherdirectly or atteir inressing the ferinented dough 3,6 at least perrtly* into thedesired shape.. The prcssing step is in the einbodiirierits sliovvri in ligures 2 and3 perlfiirnieti by a. reciprocating (dtiuble sided arrovvl) piston 14. 'thet'er'ilner1t:it:iiir1 and iaressing steps may :idrfantagcously be repeated :it least onetime. Next, the Shaped pizza. dough 3,6 is 'bakad in an oven to tiorm the iiizzticrust yvith. cheese 2 as illustrated in tigures 1-3. After an optional 'freezing of'the crust 2, toppirigs 5 are added. This final pizza. prodrrct 1 is in the endfrozen for storage in arrtieipation of sales / consumption. f) The above ine-ntirvried process is based on time stiecfific einhridiinefrit tifhetre an:trntiunt o If otieese 3 is Ifetl to the tray 4, tolitn-xfed_ by acldirig eireese ti-ee clough6 on top of the eiteese 3. Altemzfttive ernbridiinents rney' he erivisioneti, forexarriple: ~ spinkliiig cheese 3 on top of pressed cheese free dough 6 prior tobaking, after subsequently turning the assembly up side down prior to addingoiitoppings and ~ integratíng cheese 3 'in cheese free dough 6. ht the preeedíng description, cvztrious aspects of tlie product and the metihtwdaecordrirmg to the inwfentititi heufe been described tifith reference to theillustrative. enibodfifrrierit. [ftir purprises (if exptarraiticifii, speeitfïc iiutriifierfs and ccinfigttraticiris were ïliorth in order to provide a thfortntgh understz-tricliiig titt' the »rirodticts and its related ntetliod. Iiowvetferfi this description is not intended to be construed in a iiinitiiig sense. Various inoditications and Variations of the illustrative ernbodiment, Well es other einbcwtiiinents of the product andmethod, which are apparent to persons skilled in the art to Which thedisclosed subject matter pertains, are deemed to lie Within the scope of thepresent inventitin.

Claims (14)

1. l. Pizza crust for production of a baked pizza (l),said pizza crust (2) comprising a first side (2a) for resting on a pizza-baking support (4) during baking and a second side (2b) for supporting additional food products (5),characterized in thatthe pizza crust (2) is made from a dough and Wherein more than 50 % of thefirst side (2a) being in direct contact With the pizza-baking support (4) afterbaking is cheese (3).

2. The pizza crust in accordance With claim l,characterized in that more than 75 % of the first side (2a) being in direct contact With the pizza-baking support (4) afier baking is cheese (3).

3. The pizza crust in accordance With one of the preceding claims,characterized in that the second side (2b) of the pizza crust (2) is free ofcheese (3).

4. Method for large-scale production of pizza crust (l) in accordance With any ofclaims l-3 characterized by at least the following steps: (a) distributing an amount of cheese (3) on at least one pizza-bakingsupport (4) from at least one cheese distributing device (7) and (b) distributing at least one layer of cheese free dough (6) on top of thecheese (3) from at least one dough distributing device (8) to at least partly cover the amount of cheese (3) on the at least one pizza-baking support (4).

5. The method in accordance With claim 4, characterized by the followingadditional steps performed prior to one or both of steps (a) and (b): - transferring the at least one pizza-baking support (4) on a first conveyor belt (9) With a constant, or near constant, initial velocity (vi) to a first predefined distance from the belt position of the corresponding at least one distributing device (7,8) in step (a) or (b) and - decelerating the at least one pizza-baking support (4) from the initial velocity (vi) to a distributing velocity (vd) Within said first predefined distance. ll

6. The method in accordance With claim 5, characterized by the followingadditional step performed after a decelerating step related to one or bothof the steps (a) and (b): - accelerating the at least pizza-baking support (4) from the distributingvelocity (vd) to the initial velo city (vi) Within a second predefined distancefrom the belt position of the corresponding at least one distributing device (7,8) in step (a) or (b).

7. The method in accordance With one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in thatat least part of the at least one cheese distributing device (7) follows the movement of the first conveyor belt (9).

8. The method in accordance With one of claims 4 to 7, characterized bycontrolling the velocity (v) of the at least one pizza-baking support (4)in order to ensure that cycles involving at least the steps (a) and (b) are completed at least 600 times per hour.

9. The method in accordance With one of claims 4 to 8, characterized bytransferring the amount of cheese (3) to the at least one cheese distributing device (7) by means of a second conveyor belt (10).

10. l0. The method in accordance With claim 9, characterized byportioning a predeterrnined amount of cheese (3) from the second conveyor belt (l0) to the pizza-baking support (4) by means of moving a part of the second conveyor belt situated above the pizza-baking support (4) a certain distance backWards at the moment of portioning.

11. ll. The method in accordance With one of claims 4 to l0, characterized bycooling the amount of cheese (3) to an average temperature below 298 K prior to step (a).

12. The method in accordance With claim ll, characterized by distributing the amount of cheese (3) evenly, or near evenly, onto the 12 second conveyor belt (10) after cooling the amount of cheese (3) to an average temperature below 298 K.

13. The method in accordance with one of claims 9 to 12, characterized inthat at least part of the second conveyor belt (10) is situated in a separatecooling chamber (12) kept at an average ambient temperature below theaverage ambient temperature prevailing during performance of method steps (a) and (b).

14. The method in accordance with one of claims 4 to 13, characterized inthatat least one of the method steps are controlled by dedicated computer implemented software.