A ceramic composite mimicking the pervasively cracked microstructure of flexible sandstone (itacolumite) was successfully synthesized by sintering two ceramic materials with different thermal expansion coefficients. A combination of granular KZr2(PO4)(3) (high thermal expansion) and powdered KAlSi2O6 (low thermal expansion) resulted in a material with a jigsaw-like three-dimensional cracking microstructure similar to that of itacolumite. The synthesized composite was found to exhibit ductile deformation.