Being originally from Bavaria (and a life long pretzel baker when I lived away from Bavaria) I fully second your post regarding lye. Nothing beats lye in pretzel making. The common name for pretzels, pretzel buns/bagels and pretzel rolls is in German: Laugengebaeck. Lauge means lye. And a 4% sodium hydroxide lye is best for pretzels. Just one more thing: I do not use aluminum cooling racks or baking sheets. Stainless steel is what I am using. And put either parchment paper or permanent non sticking sheets (silicone sheets) on your baking sheets. This avoids any damage to the baking sheets. And of course sodium hydroxide lye is what I am using making gorgeous soaps. Lye does the saponification of the fat/oil used.

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