Hi Janet, yes, diastatic malt powder contains an active enzyme in it that helps convert starches to sugar. This can help with the rise and color of your baked good, but you have to be very cautious not to add too much of this ingredient or it can cause gumminess. If you're adding malt powder to the dough portion of your pretzel recipe I would only recommend using 1/2 teaspoon of diastatic malt powder. Brown sugar or barley malt syrup can also generally be used to substitute for non-diastatic malt powder in pretzel recipes, and you can use an equal amount of these ingredients. 

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