I read about Zingerman's pretzels made with lard and lye in the New York Times. Here's the recipe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/dining/26pretzelrex1.html

The article also talks about their baking classes. Here's a 1 minute video about them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nqOgBFAXds

I am an American that lived in Germany for many years, and misses the breads of Munich so much. I have a European culinary apprenticeship under my belt and countless years of restaurant experience, but I am not able to recreate “simple” German pretzels. I find that there is a phenomenon in the American bread world. I find everyday breads in supermarkets and even artisan bakeries that look identical to European breads, but when you pick them up and take a bite, they are much softer, and well… weaker breads.

The same things happens with my pretzels.