This local baker's sourdough bread is taking the city by storm

There is truly nothing Emma Plummer can’t do.

While taking care of two kids, Plummer bakes for seven hours each day, making around 70 to 100 loaves of bread per week.

Instead of letting her baking fails get the best of her, she once shared pictures of her heart-shaped macarons that didn’t quite look like hearts, pushing her into the spotlight and capturing the attention of stars like David Spade and Buzzfeed.

After testing positive for COVID-19 in 2021, Plummer spent three months in the hospital where she lost a lot of her muscle. When she finally came home, Plummer was already back in the kitchen, baking sourdough bread while carrying around a 50-foot oxygen cord.

Through these ups and downs, Plummer has continued to keep her business, Butter+Whisk, up and running, creating tasty treats and fresh loaves of bread that keep Tucsonans coming back for more.

Macarons and 100 loaves of bread 

Growing up, Plummer had always loved baking and often made desserts for her big family. While her mom taught her how to cook, she had to teach herself how to bake, learning from Food Network shows and YouTube videos.

When Plummer got married and became a mother, she was in need of a hobby. She decided to go back to her roots and start baking again.

“My whole identity is being a mom, which isn't a bad thing,” Plummer said. “I was like, oh, I miss being Emma, I miss doing something for me.”

Soon enough, her fridge was filled with cupcakes, cakes, cookies and macarons, leaving very little room for actual food. She would then sell her desserts to friends and family.

“I made a little business page, and I was like, oh, I'm just going to see where it goes,” Plummer said. “It kind of exploded from there.”

Butter+Whisk officially opened for business in 2019. In the beginning, Plummer’s macarons were her bestseller. She has been able to master this picky cookie recipe, carefully folding the batter and piping them into colorful shapes and designs.

For a while, macarons were the only thing Plummer was making. But when she posted a picture of a loaf of bread she made to go along with her family’s dinner, she was asked by followers if she would ever expand her menu to feature sourdough.

“Somebody asked me, would you ever make sourdough? And I was like, no it’s like keeping another child alive!” Plummer said.

But soon, everything got flipped upside down.

While pregnant with her second child in 2021, Plummer tested positive for COVID-19. Three days after she gave birth, she was put on a ventilator. She spent three months in the hospital and six weeks on and off the ventilator.

“I had to read or relearn how to walk and talk and do all of the daily everyday tasks,” Plummer said. “Even breathing was different.”

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Just days before her eldest child’s fourth birthday, Plummer was finally able to go home.

“He requested to make cupcakes. So we made a box cupcake mix together,” Plummer said. “I was like, oh, my gosh, it feels so freeing, because I was so isolated. Even simple things like making a cup of instant mac and cheese, I was like, this is where I belong.”

Within two weeks, Plummer was back to work in the kitchen with the help of her husband and mom, bringing her 50-foot cord of oxygen with her.

Since she had lost muscle in her body, Plummer had to work to regain it back, which meant doing things like simply standing up in the kitchen, eventually working her way back up to baking. That’s when she was gifted a sourdough starter.

Despite barely being able to walk on her own, Plummer and her husband learned how to make bread from start to finish. She saw it as a fun new challenge to help her regain her strength, and the couple continued to make weekly family loaves.

When macaron sales started to slow down, Plummer thought about adding bread to her menu, thinking she’d sell five to 10 loaves a week and earn a little extra income. Who would’ve guessed that it went the exact opposite way?

“It was not 10 loaves a week. It was like 23,” Plummer said. “I was like, oh, I can't do this in my home oven anymore. I realized that there was a large demand for bread, especially on the east side. So, I took that opportunity and ran with it. We bought a bread oven and now we put out consistently like between 75 and 100 loaves a week.”

The key to her mouth-watering bread is a healthy starter. Plummer said taking care of your sourdough starter as well as using good-quality flour is what makes a good loaf of bread.

Right now, Plummer loves her cinnamon roll focaccia. The focaccia is made with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon, topped with a cinnamon roll glaze. Warming it up and pairing it with a cup of coffee is Plummer’s go-to breakfast.

To have these sought-after loaves ready for Friday pick-ups, Plummer has to wake up at the crack of dawn to prepare. Thursdays are her dough days, which means she lets things ferment for about six to 12 hours. After that, she has to shape the loaves and get them into the fridge quickly.

The next day, Plummer’s husband wakes up at 2 a.m. to turn the ovens on and she gets started on baking the loaves and putting them up on her website. She then packs everything up and puts her fresh loaves on a wire rack outside her house for her porch pick-ups. Some of her customers drive 45 minutes just to pick up her bread.

The grind doesn’t stop on Fridays. She can usually be found at a local market on the weekends, selling her coveted sweets.

With a busy schedule and mom duties, Plummer does have some help from her family. Her husband helps her print all her labels and business cards. He can even jump in and help bake when things get crazy.

Plummer’s kids like to get in on the fun, too! They sometimes help at markets or stick labels onto bags. Her six-year-old even likes to tell people he made the macarons.

With glowing customer reviews, Plummer continues to bring happiness to customers through her baked goods. While the ultimate goal is to open up a brick-and-mortar bakery, for now, she’s hoping to get another bread oven by the end of the year, growing her home bakery one loaf at a time.

“I love what I do,” Plummer said. “It's my dream and when you support me, you're supporting my dream.”

To order treats and bread, visit Butter+Whisk's website and follow their Instagram to see where they'll be popping up next.