The method of making biscuits in a traditional wooden bowl, without a recipe, was traditionally practiced by home cooks all over the South. A sack of flour was emptied into the bowl, a well was made in the flour, and then the number of biscuits desired was miraculously shaped by the additon of fat and liquid. The remaining flour mixture was then sifted and returned to the bowl, covered with a tea towl or flour sack, or to the sack itself until the biscuits were made again later in the day. Alas, this process is so intimidating to novice cooks, until they get the "feel," that I have to caution the novice to try another recipe first. Please come back and try these after practicing with easier versions, because this version makes biscuits the way they are supposed to be—meltingly light, tantalizingly tender, flaky, moist—and unforgettable. I have never had a better biscuit than Kate's.
Wooden bowls are the easiest place to make biscuits. THey are large and shallow enough to allow the sweeping motion required, combining the ingredients without spilling flour everywhere; and if used regularly, they don't require washing. Any remaining dough scrapes out easily, the bowl is wiped out, and it's ready for another batch.
