John,
Can you refer me to some posts where a cracker style and a thin crispy cracker style seem to have the same picture? Often the main difference is the thickness of the crust, which can yield a "saltine" or tender cracker type of crust in one instance but a thin and crispy, flaky (brittle) crust in another instance. From a photography standpoint the two can look pretty much the same, especially if dressed in the same way.
There are a lot of variations in cracker style doughs. The doughs can be made using either a food processor or a KitchenAid or similar type of mixer, although I believe that the food processor does a better and quicker job. The doughs can be fermented at room temperature--for only a few hours and even overnight--and they can be fermented in the refrigerator. It is also possible to do a combination of both methods of fermentation. If the doughs are to be cold fermented, they can be shaped into skins either before or after refrigeration. It is also common to dock the skins, whether for a cracker style or a thin and crispy and flaky crust. The skins can be pre-baked or not. I personally prefer to use a nonperforated dark anodized cutter pan but it is also possible to bake the pizzas directly on a pizza stone. The oil can be just about anything. From what I can tell, professionals tend to use ordinary vegetable oil (usually soybean), because it is cheap, but it is also possible to use olive oil or an olive oil/canola or similar blend. I generally don't use the extra virgin olive oil, but if you like the taste, then you should use it. Professionals tend not to use extra virgin olive oil because it is too expensive and the taste may be a little too potent. I am hard pressed to recall reading about extra virgin olive oil being used by professionals for this style of pizza.
Many of the chains that sell cracker style or thin and crispy pizzas use par-baked crusts (often called shells) that are prepared offsite and delivered to the stores where they can be frozen or refrigerated until ready to be used. There are also companies that specialize in par-baked crusts for use by pizza operators. There are pizza operators, however, who make their own skins for the cracker style. They use dough rollers/sheeters and stamp out skins, which may or may not be docked before using.
If you want to get more detail on dough preparation and management techniques for the cracker style, you may want to take a look at this thread:
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,5762.0.html.
Peter
