Subbing molasses for honey

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 I want to make the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Deli-Style Rye Bread. It calls for making a fermented "sponge" to start the dough. This includes 2 tablespoons of honey, which I assume are important because of the sugars. I don't have any honey, but I do have molasses. Can I use the molasses instead of the honey? I'm not really worried about the flavor--just whether or not the fermentation will still work.

Cross posted to cooking