Found "Tested Recipes with Blue Ribbon Malt Extract" (1951) in my cookbook pamphlet collection this morning while looking for a cake recipe. (I think I picked it up at a garage sale years back, pre-homebrew.)
"Malt extract has long held an important place in the industrial preparation of food. Bakers and confectioners use it widely. ... [etc.] For some food uses plain malt extract imparts the desired taste, for others the addition of the tang derived from fragrant hops is an advantage. Old time bakers and chefs knew the advantage of using malt and hops, but their methods entailed considerable work. ..."
No mention of beer. Some of the recipes, such as the breads, suggest hopped extract as an alternative.