I was recently in Le Marche, Italy, and I bought several squares of a bread or cracker in the market in Ancona. It was maybe a quarter inch thick, crunchy, filled with olive oil & sunflower seeds & sesame. It clearly was made with a pretty wet dough, and must have had a fair amount of oil in it – it was crispy all the way through but not dry. I found it again in a town just south of Ancona, and the woman who sold it to me said it was called pizza seca de cerial.

I was delighted to discover that the Mantovana Olive Oil Bread is clearly a close relative (Thanks Rose!!), but so far, I haven’t been able to produce a really great crispy-all-the-way-through consistency in a cracker-ish form. Does anyone have any leads for me? -Tracy

I think the closest thing in the Bread Bible, as far as texture, is the recipe for matzoh.  You might compare recipes and see if you can blend the two together to get what you are looking for.

Thanks Matthew! I’ve recently tried, and loved, the matzoh. But I’m looking for something about a quarter inch thick. When I spread the Mantovana dough on a cookie sheet after the 1st rise, let it rise on the cookie sheet an hour, and then cook it for 14 minutes at 450, I get something kinda close… I think it’s a time / heat thing, not a kind of dough thing, although I could well be wrong…

Since its rather thick, you might consider trying to dry it in a low oven after your bake it.  Maybe 250 on a rack for an hour or two?  Just a guess.