diff --git a/supermin.spec b/supermin.spec
index aad6818..f62000a 100644
--- a/supermin.spec
+++ b/supermin.spec
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@ BuildRequires: glibc-static, zlib-static
 BuildRequires: ocaml, ocaml-findlib-devel
 BuildRequires: prelink
 
+# automake isn't actually required; however the src/.depend file gets
+# rebuilt which newer automake thinks (wrongly) means that the
+# Makefile.am has been touched and needs rebuilding.
+BuildRequires: automake
+
 Requires:      yum >= 3.2
 Requires:      yum-utils
 Requires:      supermin-helper%{?_isa} = %{version}-%{release}