Back at the beginning of Prohibition in the early '20s, the Pabst Brewing Company gave up; stopped brewing beer and sold its breweries. The buyer was a guy named Pearlstein who started a business called Premier Malt Products and used the breweries to make Blue Ribbon malt syrup, "for cooking." You could get the syrup with, or without, hops flavoring.
And by God, the cookbook suggests that plenty of dishes that would be oh so much better with a little malt syrup in them: breads and donuts and muffins, of course. And malt loaf, malted chocolate pudding, malted pecan pie, spaghetti and meatballs (with malt), macaroni and cheese (ditto), and even cheese omelets with malt.
All well and good. But what they forgot to mention in the cookbook was that you could use Blue Ribbon malt syrup to make, uh, beer. At home. During Prohibition.
And it was a huge seller. "Ah, yah, I'll take a three-pound can of that fine malt syrup. With the hops flavoring. My wife she sure does make them fine malt, uh, PANCAKES, yah!"
When Prohibition ended, Pabst bought back the breweries and resumed making Pabst Blue Ribbon and other frothy alcoholic favorites. But they kept making Blue Ribbon Malt Syrup, too, because some people kept making their own beer, and other people actually did bake with the stuff.
Pabst unloaded Premier Malt Products in the '80s to private investors, and it soldiers on as a supplier of malt sweeteners and malt products to food processors and bakers. And, yes, the (ahem) "malt beverage industry." Just so you know.
White Bread.
3 quarts sifted flour
1 quart lukewarm water
2 cakes compressed yeast
½ tablespoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoons Blue Ribbon Malt Extract (hop flavored or plain)
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons lard or melted butter.
Dissolve yeast, sugar, and Blue Ribbon Malt Extract in lukewarm water. Add lard or butter and half the flour, beat until smooth. Add salt and balance of the flour, or enough to make dough that can be handled, knead well. Place in greased bowl, cover and set aside in a moderately warm place until light, about one and a half hours. Mould into loaves. Place in well-greased bread pans, filling them half full. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Bake forty-five minutes to one hour at 400o F. If a richer loaf is desired, use milk in place of all or part of the water.
Soft Gingerbread
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspooon cloves
1 tsp each ginger and cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Blue Ribbon Malt Extract (malt flavored or plain)
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup boiling water
2 tsps soda
2 beaten eggs
Sift the dry ingredients together. Mix the molasses, shortening, Blue Ribbon Malt Extract, and water thoroughly with the boiling water. Add the beaten eggs. Add to the other ingredients, mix well. Bake in moderate oven at 325 degrees F until done -- about 45 minutes.
