diff --git a/src/gates/gate_tree.rs b/src/gates/gate_tree.rs
index 4b0a541a..30dd01ed 100644
--- a/src/gates/gate_tree.rs
+++ b/src/gates/gate_tree.rs
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ impl<F: Extendable<D>, const D: usize> Tree<GateRef<F, D>> {
         for max_degree_bits in 1..10 {
             // The quotient polynomials are padded to the next power of 2 in `compute_quotient_polys`.
             // So we can restrict our search space by setting `max_degree` to 1 + a power of 2.
-            let max_degree = 1 << max_degree_bits + 1;
+            let max_degree = (1 << max_degree_bits) + 1;
             for max_constants in 1..100 {
                 if let Some(mut best_tree) = Self::find_tree(&gates, max_degree, max_constants) {
                     let mut best_num_constants = best_tree.num_constants();