1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
⅛ teaspoon sugar
3–3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried crumbled basil (optional)
cornmeal
Combine yeast, warm water, and sugar, and stir until yeast dissolves. When small bubbles form, add to flour, salt, and optional basil. Stir or process mixture in food processor until a ball is formed, then knead for about 10 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour gradually. Lightly oil a bowl, add dough, cover and place in a warm spot. Let dough rise until double in bulk, about 30 to 50 minutes. Punch down, remove from bowl, and knead an additional minute or two. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
On a heavy baking pan sprinkled with cornmeal, stretch the dough out to make a circle, keeping it thin in the middle and thicker around the outside edge. The heavy, black, non-stick cookie sheets make excellent pans to use. If you like crisp crusts, you may want to bake your crust for about 8 minutes before you fill it, then add toppings and finish baking an additional 7 to 10 minutes.