Measure out the sourdough starter, water and sugar (and yeast if you want to add it). Stir together until the sourdough starter and sugar are dissolved into the water.

Now, add the oil, flour and salt into the bowl and gently stir together with a dough whisk or knife. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to sit for around 30 minutes.The dough will seem a little dry and shaggy and that's ok! You can see photos of how the dough looks through the process in the recipe notes above.

Now, tip the dough out onto the counter and knead it really well using your hands. This is a lovely dough to work with and with the right kneading, it will become soft and silky. I find it takes around 10 minutes to come together when kneading by hand.Note - you can do this using a stand mixer - you can see the instructions for how to do this here.

Once the dough is silky and elastic, pop it into a warm bowl (I warm a bowl with water and then dry it - this speeds up the rising).Cover with cling wrap or a damp tea towel and leave to rise until it has doubled. See notes below for timing and how to judge it.

Once the dough has doubled, separate the dough into smaller balls so they are ready to be rolled out. I use 200g per pizza (this fits my pizza oven perfectly) but anywhere from 200g to 300g is good for a pizza.Leave the balls on your counter top, covered with a tea towel, for around 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

Once you're ready to make your bases, use your fingers to press your dough into a pizza round. If you need to stretch the dough, pick it up and move your hands around the edges, allowing the dough's own weight to stretch it out into a round. Avoid using a rolling pin if you can to maintain your dough's sourdough character and give it good structure when baked.

Place your pizza dough onto pizza peels ready to top with your favorite toppings (see my notes in the article above for my best tips on using pizza peels).When you are ready to bake, pre heat your oven to 230C/450F and make sure it's HOT!! Place your pizzas into the hot oven for around 15 minutes or until toppings are cooked and bases are crispy on the bottom. These bases are especially good baked in a wood fired or gas pizza oven. I bake them for 2 minutes at 350C - 400C (662F - 752F)