shows the specific volume and crumb hardness of the
bread loaves presented in Fig. 1. Increase in the specific volume and
decrease in the crumb hardness were observed after treatment
with protease M and thermoase, whereas proteases A and P had no
effects on the specific volume and crumb hardness. Treatments
with protease M and thermoase improved the bread quality
because they formed a structure that could incorporate more air
bubbles, thereby retaining more CO2 during proofing. However, we
observed a marked difference between the two treated breads
shown in Fig. 1.