These days, everyone knows about Italian panini, simple sandwiches made with an oblong roll and a slab of porchetta or slice of pecorino and not much else. They are tasty in their elemental simplicity and would be unthinkable without that yeast-risen roll. But Italy also has another type of sandwich that doesn’t depend on yeast and is much older, perhaps hearkening back to Roman times.

Driving along a country lane in Umbria, you’ll sometimes spot a rotisserie up on a hillside, a rural place where chicken, lamb, or goat are turned on a spit over charcoal or shards of wood. This meat or poultry is usually served on a flatbread called torta al testo that was historically cooked on a stone in the same fire. Across the Apennine Mountains in Le Marche, a similar flatbread often made with lard is called crescia. Folded over, it is also used to make sandwiches, usually featuring thin slices of meat or cheese, or both.