flours

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of flour.

   Specialty stores stock a range of flours milled from ancient grains.

   Skilled bakers blend several flours to get the right texture.

   Note

   A plural that exists because a mass noun was made countable. Flour is usually uncountable (a bag of flour, not a flour), so flours means kinds: rye and wheat flours, or flours ground from soybeans and potatoes. Use it when sorting types. For quantity, stay with the singular. The spelling once also served for flower, so in old texts flours may simply be blossoms.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of flour.

   The chef flours the work surface so the dough won't stick.

   She flours the cake pan to help the batter release cleanly.

   Note

   The verb behind this form does two kitchen jobs and one industrial one. In the kitchen it is transitive and wants an object: she flours the board to coat it, and the mill flours wheat by grinding it. In amalgamation it takes no object, and mercury that flours breaks up into fine globules. The same spelling serves the plural noun, so the sentence around it shows which one you are reading.

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