diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 15d28bc7..70c37114 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ task :setup_github_pages, :repo do |t, args|
   rm_rf deploy_dir
   mkdir deploy_dir
   cd "#{deploy_dir}" do
-    system "git init"
+    system "git init -b #{deploy_branch}"
     system "echo 'My Octopress Page is coming soon …' > index.html"
     system "git add ."
     system "git commit -m \"Octopress init\""