Patent Application
20080032004
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The FIGURE is a flow diagram illustrating the method steps for preparing a pizza according to the principles of the present disclosure.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
With reference to the FIGURE, a flow diagram illustrating the method steps for making a pizza, according to the present disclosure, will now be described. First, at Step S1, an at least partially baked pizza crust is formed. It is preferred that the pizza crust is baked approximately 60-100% although other amounts of partially baking can be utilized. The amount the crust is baked can depend upon the size (diameter) and thickness of the crust. The amount of gelatinization of the starch contained in the crust can be between 60-100% with the crust not being browned or being only partially browned. The at least partially baked crust can be pre-made and stored either at ambient temperature or can be refrigerated or frozen.
At Step S2, one or more “essential” toppings are added to the partially baked pizza crust. The “essential” toppings can include but are not intended to be limited to a sauce and/or a cheese. The “essential” toppings are intended to include the toppings that are typically included on each pizza order. For different pizza's the essential toppings may vary. The essential toppings can be pre-heated, at ambient temperature, or otherwise refrigerated when added to the partially baked pizza crust.
At step S3, the partially baked pizza crust and essential toppings are wrapped or otherwise covered with an impermeable material. The impermeable wrap or cover can include a plastic wrap, a foil, or other plastic or metal cover. The use of a wrap or cover is intended to maintain the moisture content of the partially baked crust and the essential toppings. The wrap or cover can be a re-usable cover that can resealably engage the pan. Without intending to be limited by theory, the wrap or cover should preferably closely engage the assembled pizza.
At Step S4, the covered assembled pizza may be quickly warmed to 120-170° F. under a heat lamp for approximately ten minutes, and is then kept in a warm holding cabinet having a temperature of between 100 and 180° F. and more preferably, approximately 140-150° F. The holding cabinet preferably heats the partially baked crust and essential toppings to a predetermined temperature with the wrap or covering maintaining the moisture content of the ingredients.
When a pizza is ordered, the assembled pizza is removed from the holding cabinet, the cover or wrap is removed and the “ordered” toppings are added to the pizza assembly at step S5. The “ordered” toppings can include any toppings requested by a customer. Without intending to be limiting, the “ordered” toppings can include cheese, sauce, pepperoni, ham, sausage, ground beef, peppers, onions, anchovies, mushrooms, pineapple or other known toppings. Some of the “ordered toppings can be pre-heated to a holding temperature which can be the same as or different from the holding temperature of the holding cabinet. For example, meat toppings may be pre-heated to a holding temperature so that they can be immediately applied to the assembled pizza prior to final baking. With regard to pineapple and some vegetable toppings, it may not be desirable to pre-heat the toppings.
At step S6, the fully assembled pizza is then inserted into an oven to complete the baking of the pizza, as ordered. It should be noted that the oven can be an infrared electric radiant heat-type oven (commercially available under the name QMATIC), a toaster-type oven, a convection-type oven, or any other type of conventional oven used in pizzerias The final baking step is intended to further heat the pizza and brown or further brown the crust, cheese and toppings of the pizza. Because the crust, sauce, cheese and pre-heated “ordered” toppings are all pre-heated to the respective holding temperatures, the final baking time can be reduced to less than three minutes and preferably less than two minutes and more preferably, between 5 and 60 seconds depending upon the size and thickness of the crust and depending upon the amount of toppings. In particular, for a small thin crust pizza, the final bake time can be as little as 5 seconds.
With the method of the present disclosure, a made-to-order pizza can be assembled and baked in minimal time without compromising quality, freshness, or taste.
