diff --git a/default.nix b/default.nix
index 08457ea..d4da4af 100644
--- a/default.nix
+++ b/default.nix
@@ -258,9 +258,8 @@ let
               # Note Doom does have packages with pin + branch (or nonrecursive) set,
               # expecting to inherit the rest of the recipe from Straight.
 
-              # Always specify a ref to work around https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/10773
-              ref = p.recipe.branch or "HEAD";
             }
+            // optionalAttrs (p ? recipe.branch) { ref = p.recipe.branch; }
             // optionalAttrs (p ? recipe.depth) { shallow = p.recipe.depth == 1; };
             src =
               if experimentalFetchTree