Ward, sometimes we're looking for the excitement, the "pure" approach, of using sourdough starter in place of yeast; sometimes, we just want to use up discard starter and/or add a bit of sourdough flavor, without relying on it for the dough's rise — as in this pizza crust. Even dormant sourdough starter, when combined with flour and liquid in a recipe, will raise the dough — eventually. But if your starter hasn't been fed in awhile, it might take so long to get going that the whole process of making pizza would stretch over a couple of days; probably not optimal, from most readers' point of view. Thus the addition of yeast. Thanks for your questions, though; I've rewritten the recipe's headnotes, and tweaked some of the directions, to make it more clear that the older and more neglected your starter, the longer it would take to work and the less rise it'll add to this crust— which, again, is exactly why we add yeast. Do you want to make this crust with o yeast? Totally fine. Just realize that your rising times will be increased; and that you'll have best results with a fairly healthy starter, as opposed to one that's sat in the fridge for a couple of months without being fed. Good luck — PJH@KAF

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