The folks at Breeo introduced the first smokeless fire pit in 2014 and, in doing so they created a whole new product category. But there’s more to their story than that. Leveraging man’s primal relationship with fire, they build fire pits to provide warmth, foster comradery, and cook on or with. From the onset, they’ve considered cooking on their fire pits a core feature, with a selection of accessories available to do so. It was only a matter of time before they offered a pizza oven.
I’ve tested Breeo’s X-Series and Y-Series fire pits, as well as some of their grilling and cooking accessories, so I was excited to try the Live-Fire Pizza Oven as soon as it launched.
First Impressions
It’s bigger than I expected, and heavier—about 80 pounds. But Breeo uses a lot thicker steel in their fire pits than other manufactures, so it really wasn’t a surprise. Some of the weight is due to the large, two-piece, Cordierite pizza stone, which is nearly 1-inch thick. The sides and top of the oven are double-walled to help hold the heat. And the whole thing is topped with an adjustable chimney vent. The Live-Fire Oven fits perfectly on top of Breeo’s X24 smokeless fire pit—it also fits on the Luxeve, as well as the X30 with a separately available adapter ring.
The Live-Fire differs from most other portable outdoor pizza ovens in that the pizza stone is heated from below. Usually, heat is radiated down onto the stone from flames running across the top of the oven, or from the heated ceiling of the oven itself. In that case, the pizza is cooked from both the top and the bottom.
Our test model was delivered in a Corten steel finish, with a reddish-brown patina. Corten is a steel alloy designed to oxidize (rust) to a point where it becomes its own protective coating. It’s the same alloy you might see used to build bridges or towers for power lines that look rusty, even when new. The Live-Fire is also available in brushed stainless steel—you it can be matched to the fire pit you may already have.
Firing it Up: Making Pizza
The first time using the Live-Fire, I followed the suggested process in Breeo’s Quick Start Guide. I started a fire with five oak logs in the fire pit and waited about 45 minutes before placing the oven on top. The goal is to get some of the logs burned down to have a bed of hot coals started. When the oven is cool, it is manageable to get on the fire pit by yourself, although it is easier with another person.
With the oven on top, I monitored the inside temperature with the Live-Fire’s built-in thermometer. The suggested target is 700-900 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll need an infrared thermometer to measure the stone temperature which they suggest to be 500-600 degrees.
When the temperatures hit the targets—which took a little fiddling with adding more small split pieces of wood—I pitched in the pizza. With the temps Breeo suggested, you have plenty of time to turn the pizza with little risk of burning it, either on the top or bottom. I made four pizzas for dinner that night. Everything worked fine, and the pizza was good—but not exactly the way I normally would make it.
Typically, I try to cook with the pizza stone around 750-800 degrees, and the oven temp at about 900 degrees. This will cook a pizza in 90-120 seconds and results in some nice dark highlights on the crust. So, the second time around, I built a bigger initial fire. When I placed the Live-Fire on top of the X24, I immediately added another small log. I watched the temps and got the pizza stone right where I wanted it, at 750 degrees. With the oven temperature at a little over 800 degrees, I pitched the first pie in. The bottom of the crust cooked quicker than the top, so I tried adding some more wood to the fire—but it didn’t bump the heat quickly enough. So, I didn’t have the top cooked enough to my liking.
Cooking with live fire is an exercise in balance, trying to anticipate where the temperature will be after you’ve added wood, or shuffled the coals. On my third pizza making session, I prepared some extra pieces of firewood that I could add to boost the temperature—and flames—quickly. I split a couple of normal logs into several pieces about 1-1/2 inches wide. When thrown in the back of the fire pit, they ignited quickly and flames reached up into and licked the roof of the oven. I threw two of these in just before pitching each new pizza and the extra heat/flames were just the trick to boost oven temps and cook the top of the pizza to the same degree as the bottom.
All of this to say that it’ll take a couple times to get the oven temps exactly where you want for how you cook pizza. Going through the process will teach you a lot about how the oven works, and ultimately to cook your perfect pizza. And, when you’re done with the pizza, you can pop the oven off the fire pit, throw on a few more logs, and relax with friends and family as the evening cools down.
Is the Live-Fire Oven for You?
The Live-Fire Oven is $850. But, considering the quality of the materials they use and the durability, it is an investment—you should expect to get many years of use out of it. For folks who already have one of the compatible Breeo smokeless fire pits and like cooking over a wood fire, the Live-Fire Oven will likely be a welcome addition to your outdoor space.
Also, consider, that this is an oven—you can use it for a lot more than pizza. Drop the temperatures and you can bake bread, roast meat in cast iron pans, or corn on the cob—there are endless possibilities. If mastering how to cook different things, or mastering cooking with fire, is interesting to you, then the Live-Fire Oven might be a good fit.
And, for anyone who considers a fire pit an important part of your patio and backyard experience, a Breeo smokeless fire pit and Live-Fire Oven will up your hosting game. I would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t enjoy an evening of pizza or sitting around a smokeless fire. Lastly, it is worth mentioning for those who keep track of these things, Breeo manufactures their products in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA. If you’re interested in their story, you can read about it on their website.
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Brad Ford has spent most of his life using tools to fix, build, or make things. Growing up he worked on a farm, where he learned to weld, repair, and paint equipment. From the farm he went to work at a classic car dealer, repairing and servicing Rolls Royces, Bentleys, and Jaguars. Today, when he's not testing tools or writing for Popular Mechanics, he's busy keeping up with the projects at his old farmhouse in eastern Pennsylvania.
