Dutch Oven vs. Lava Rocks?
I’ve been using a cast iron combo cooker and it’s given me good results on the crust and such, but I’ve been wondering about lava rocks and would like to know if anyone has tried both Dutch oven and lava rocks. Is there much of a difference in the results of one over the other?
Obviously, I’d like to stick with the combo cooker as lava rocks sound like a lot of trouble: set up a baking stone, get those rocks into an aluminum pan and into the oven, etc. It also sounds dangerous (pour hot boiling water over super hot rocks? Yikes!).
I would give the rocks a try, however, if the results are markedly better.
One thing I’m wondering about—The rocks need to be sterilized in boiling water, in the oven, for 30 minutes before using. This is going to sound paranoid but...
(1) What pot do you boil them in, given that they can scratch up pots, and won’t that pot get contaminated by the toxins you’re boiling out?
(2) If you boil them in something like an aluminum pan (which can be thrown out)....doesn’t the steam containing the toxins you’re boiling out contaminate the oven?