I have been making these wonderful authentic German soft pretzels for quite some time using lye wash and clearly prefer it to baking soda wash. My question is; since I bake a lot of bread using King Arthur bread flower, what would be problematic using it for pretzels as well? Also, at the advice of a baker (on YOUTUBE), I just ordered diastatic barley malt flour from King Arthur. Is this product as beneficial as it is made out to be?? I'm really anxious to give it a try. Thanks in advance. glenn123 Glenn, you can certainly use KA bread flour for pretzels; if your recipe calls for all-purpose flour, simply increase the water a bit, to account for bread flour's higher protein. I think perhaps a couple of teaspoons of extra water per cup of flour should do it. As for diastatic malt, its effect will be subtle; it you're a seasoned bread baker, you'll notice that it helps the yeast (and thus your bread's rise); and also converts starch to sugar, helping the loaf brown better. Have fun with it - PJH

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