Fig. 4 shows an ultrastructure of the surfaces of thermoase treated
bread and the control bread by scanning electron microscopy.
Many irregularly cellular structures that resembled cork cells
were observed on the surfaces of the thermoase-treated bread;
however, small amounts of cellular structures were observed on the
surfaces of the control bread. These results suggest that the beneficial
effects of thermoase were related to the enzymatic hydrolysis
of proteins in the protein matrix in which starch granules were
embedded, leading to reduced interference with the starch phase
and the production of a more cellular structure. The resulting
structure was assumed to confer soft and high-volume properties
to gluten-free rice bread.