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Bertello Grande 16 Review: Big Upgrades, BIG Oven

Bertello Grande

The Bertello Grande 16 inch outdoor pizza oven is Bertello’s follow up to the original 12 inch model, and with it, they introduced many welcomed improvements.

As the name implies, the new oven offers a sixteen-inch stone. While four more inches may not sound like a lot, in practical terms, it is a significant amount of additional real estate making it far easier to launch and turn pies, as well as offering the ability to make larger pizzas or other types of food.

I was an early adopter of their original oven, back when the company was called Napoli. Presumably, they updated the name as Napoli is such a commonly used name, and they needed to better distinguish themselves.

At the time I purchased the original oven, there were only a few options on the market for relatively affordable, portable pizza ovens. I chose the Bertello (Napoli) because it offered the best bang for the buck.

Comparing it to Gozney Rockbox, or the Ooni, I was able to get the wood burning oven AND the propane attachment for about $100 less than the other ovens.

I had been making pizza in my oven or on my gas Weber grill for several years and had been wanting to step up my game. I was thrilled when these new ovens came on the market.

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Multi-Fuel was a Game Changer

Bertello Grande 16 propane burner

Once I got the oven, there was definitely a learning curve. I had to experiment with different fuel types before I dialed in and perfected my technique. Pellets don’t work well, and I would not recommend them. They take too long to ignite, generate way too much smoke, and once fully lit, burn way too fast.

My options were either hickory wood chunks (difficult to light, and you need a USB fan behind the oven to fuel the fire) or propane (not enough heat coverage at the front of the oven). Both offered pros and cons by themselves.

But…Soon after I purchased my oven, my decision was even further validated when they released their combo tray that allowed users to cook with propane and wood simultaneously. This was a game changer, and to my knowledge, Bertello is the only company offering this technology.

With the combo tray, you get the best of both worlds. The ease of lighting and preheating with propane and the flavor of wood with the added heat coverage towards the front of the stone.

  • Made For Year-Round Use.
  • Can pre-heat to 900°F in as fast as 10 minutes.
  • Wood-Fired Magic - Cook authentic Neapolitan pizza right in your own backyard.
Check Price on
Amazon.com

How the Grande compares to the original Bertello

More Space

I had been using the original oven for about two and a half years when I learned of the upcoming Grande and was excited to jump on board. While I loved the original oven, I had been wanting more space.

Bertello Grande 16 Interior

Bigger Opening

Added space was just one of the upgrades, however. On the original oven, the opening is quite small with a narrow rectangular opening to the cooking area.

On the new oven, they made the opening semi-circular, creating a larger opening making it much easier to launch pizzas and turn them during the cook.

Better Finish

On the new oven, they use a glossy paint rather than the powder-like paint they used on the original. This provides a more aesthetically pleasing look.

Taller Legs

The legs on the new oven are much taller than the original, making the oven stand up higher, which I find convenient making it easier to launch pies and look in the oven to watch my pies as they cook.

Improved Burner

The most notable upgrade, however, is their clever burner design, which is significantly larger than the original and goes under the stone and extends about two-thirds of the way to the front of the stone.

Part of the burner in the back of the oven is exposed with the flames going to the top of the oven, and the remainder extends under the stone. This enables the stone to preheat extremely fast and reheat quickly between pizzas if you have several pre-made and ready to go.

Burner and Combo Tray are Built into the Oven

The burner and combo tray are built into the Grande, so you don’t need to purchase any additional components. As with the original oven, you can use gas, wood, or a combination of both.

As I mentioned above, I’m not aware of any other pizza ovens on the market that offer this versatility.

  • Made For Year-Round Use.
  • Can pre-heat to 900°F in as fast as 10 minutes.
  • Wood-Fired Magic - Cook authentic Neapolitan pizza right in your own backyard.
Check Price on
Amazon.com

Thoughts on the Bertello Grande Itself

Build Quality and Size

The build quality is solid. This oven is sturdy and very heavy. Although technically it could be considered portable, it’s too heavy to realistically pack this up for trips or vacations. I have mine on a table on patio and it stays under a grill cover year-round.

The Stone

The ovens do not have rotating stones. While I see the convenience of rotating stones, I prefer having the larger rectangular stone, which offers more room to cook on.

A rotating stone needs to be circular, and the area of the stone sacrificed is not insignificant.

Fuel Efficiency

Considering how hot these ovens get, it’s astonishing how little propane they use. A single tank lasted over a year with my oven.

Heat Retention

Temps can be a little tricky to dial in with the burner. Weather seams to influence the heat. If the burner is too low, it takes a little longer to cook a pizza and the bottom doesn’t come out quite as blistered as I like. If the burner is too high, it’s very easy to burn the bottom.

There is fine tuning needed and you can’t assume that you can set the dial the exact same every cook. This oven does require attention and fine-tuning each cook.

Cleaning

Cleaning the oven is quite easy. If any cheese, sauce, or any other food gets on the stone during cooking, they usually burn right off from the high heat. I usually flip the stone after each cook and the bottom of the stone gets cleaned right up from the burner. I use a small shop vac to clean out the ash from the wood chunks.

Bertello’s Customer Service

I had some small rust spots show up after about two years of use on the original oven, which I simply sanded down with fine-grit sandpaper and then used high-temp black paint to cover.

The back cover rusted and warped a bit after a couple years as well. This is to be expected cooking with temps above 900 degrees.

I emailed customer service, and they promptly mailed me a replacement, no questions asked. I received the replacement part in a matter of days.

  • Made For Year-Round Use.
  • Can pre-heat to 900°F in as fast as 10 minutes.
  • Wood-Fired Magic - Cook authentic Neapolitan pizza right in your own backyard.
Check Price on
Amazon.com

Tips for Cooking with the Bertello Grande 16

I have come up with a pretty solid method for cooking this pizza in the oven, through a lot of trial and error. I had the benefit of making pizza for several years, so I already was comfortable with making dough, forming a good circular pie, and making sure the pizza never sticks to the peel when launching.

My go-to dough recipe is Roberta’s pizza dough found on the New York Times website. This is a pretty traditional Neapolitan style dough using all purpose 00 flour, ideal for high-temp ovens. Depending on how many pies I’m making, I’ll increase the ingredients proportionally.

For cooking pizza, I typically fire up the propane burner when I’m ready to start getting all of my accoutrements ready to go. I crank the oven to full blast and let it preheat for 10 to 20 minutes.

The preheat time is shortened significantly from the original oven thanks to the new burner design. According to Bertello, it can get up to temp in only 6-8 minutes.

Once the oven is up to temperature (900 degrees for Neapolitan style) and I’m ready to assemble the first pie, I’ll drop the burner down to just above low and add a couple large hickory wood chunks. Oak, or any other good hardwood will work fine. Temps are so high, the wood type makes little difference in flavor.

Once I’ve put together my first pie, I check to make sure the flames have died down a little, and I’ll launch the pie. I typically cook for 30 seconds, then rotate 180 degrees, cook for about 20 seconds, rotate 90 degrees, another 10 to 20 seconds, rotate 180 degrees, and about 10 more seconds. So my pies typically take just about 90 seconds.

I’ll keep an eye on the flames and usually add a small chunk between pies to keep the flames going towards the front of the oven.

A huge benefit of the larger oven is more room to launch the pizzas on the 16 inch stone. You don’t have to put the pizza all the way to the back of the oven, so the crust is less likely to get scorched from being too close to the flames. This was a common issue I had with the original oven.

The oven is ready to cook the next pizza almost immediately after finishing one thanks to the new burner design.

What Else Can You Cook in this Pizza Oven?

While pizza is my typical go-to for this oven, I’ve cooked a few New York strips in it as well. I used a similar technique but using a cast iron skillet. I preheat the oven and a few minutes before I’m ready to cook the steak, I’ll drop the burner down to just above low, and add a couple wood chunks.

Bertello Grande 16 cooks steak

As with pizza, you need to make sure the flames die down a bit. I’ll add the skillet to get it up to temp, and then drop the steak on the pan and place in the oven. It took about 5 minutes flipping halfway through for a rare to medium rare cook on a Costco choice grade strip.

Flat breads are also wonderful in this oven. I’m excited to make Naan with it soon.

I’ve also made dinner herb rolls that come out fantastic. I use the same dough recipe but mix in a lot of herbs like rosemary and thyme. I ball up the dough and place the balls in a cast iron skillet (not preheated) and cook for a few minutes at a lower temperature.

There are plenty of other uses for this oven. Your imagination is the limit with things worth trying.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, I haven’t had an opportunity to experiment with other pizza oven brands at this point, so I’m unable to compare actual performance against anything other than the original oven and the Grande. But based on the versatility and price point, I don’t think you can go wrong with the Bertello.

While there are a few quirks with the oven, and it takes time and patience to perfect how to use it, it is a wonderful tool for homemade traditional Neapolitan pizza (as well as other styles), and other foods, that comes in at a better price point compared to its competitors. I’ve really enjoyed this oven, and like experimenting and continuing to perfect my technique.

  • Made For Year-Round Use.
  • Can pre-heat to 900°F in as fast as 10 minutes.
  • Wood-Fired Magic - Cook authentic Neapolitan pizza right in your own backyard.
Check Price on
Amazon.com