diff --git a/src/fri/recursive_verifier.rs b/src/fri/recursive_verifier.rs
index 443bd7c9..aae0963c 100644
--- a/src/fri/recursive_verifier.rs
+++ b/src/fri/recursive_verifier.rs
@@ -33,14 +33,13 @@ impl<F: RichField + Extendable<D>, const D: usize> CircuitBuilder<F, D> {
 
         let g = F::primitive_root_of_unity(arity_bits);
         let g_inv = g.exp_u64((arity as u64) - 1);
-        let g_inv_t = self.constant(g_inv);
 
         // The evaluation vector needs to be reordered first.
         let mut evals = evals.to_vec();
         reverse_index_bits_in_place(&mut evals);
         // Want `g^(arity - rev_x_index_within_coset)` as in the out-of-circuit version. Compute it
         // as `(g^-1)^rev_x_index_within_coset`.
-        let start = self.exp_from_bits(g_inv_t, x_index_within_coset_bits.iter().rev());
+        let start = self.exp_from_bits_const_base(g_inv, x_index_within_coset_bits.iter().rev());
         let coset_start = self.mul(start, x);
 
         // The answer is gotten by interpolating {(x*g^i, P(x*g^i))} and evaluating at beta.
@@ -334,9 +333,8 @@ impl<F: RichField + Extendable<D>, const D: usize> CircuitBuilder<F, D> {
         // `subgroup_x` is `subgroup[x_index]`, i.e., the actual field element in the domain.
         let (mut subgroup_x, vanish_zeta) = with_context!(self, "compute x from its index", {
             let g = self.constant(F::coset_shift());
-            let phi = self.constant(F::primitive_root_of_unity(n_log));
-
-            let phi = self.exp_from_bits(phi, x_index_bits.iter().rev());
+            let phi = F::primitive_root_of_unity(n_log);
+            let phi = self.exp_from_bits_const_base(phi, x_index_bits.iter().rev());
             let g_ext = self.convert_to_ext(g);
             let phi_ext = self.convert_to_ext(phi);
             // `subgroup_x = g*phi, vanish_zeta = g*phi - zeta`
diff --git a/src/gadgets/arithmetic.rs b/src/gadgets/arithmetic.rs
index da67b131..93387ea7 100644
--- a/src/gadgets/arithmetic.rs
+++ b/src/gadgets/arithmetic.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 use std::borrow::Borrow;
 
 use crate::field::extension_field::Extendable;
-use crate::field::field_types::RichField;
+use crate::field::field_types::{Field, RichField};
+use crate::gates::arithmetic::ArithmeticExtensionGate;
 use crate::gates::exponentiation::ExponentiationGate;
 use crate::iop::target::{BoolTarget, Target};
 use crate::plonk::circuit_builder::CircuitBuilder;
@@ -115,7 +116,16 @@ impl<F: RichField + Extendable<D>, const D: usize> CircuitBuilder<F, D> {
 
     /// Exponentiate `base` to the power of `2^power_log`.
     pub fn exp_power_of_2(&mut self, base: Target, power_log: usize) -> Target {
-        self.exp_u64(base, 1 << power_log)
+        if power_log > ArithmeticExtensionGate::<D>::new_from_config(&self.config).num_ops {
+            // Cheaper to just use `ExponentiateGate`.
+            return self.exp_u64(base, 1 << power_log);
+        }
+
+        let mut product = base;
+        for _ in 0..power_log {
+            product = self.square(product);
+        }
+        product
     }
 
     // TODO: Test
@@ -151,6 +161,39 @@ impl<F: RichField + Extendable<D>, const D: usize> CircuitBuilder<F, D> {
         self.exp_from_bits(base, exponent_bits.iter())
     }
 
+    /// Like `exp_from_bits` but with a constant base.
+    pub fn exp_from_bits_const_base(
+        &mut self,
+        base: F,
+        exponent_bits: impl IntoIterator<Item = impl Borrow<BoolTarget>>,
+    ) -> Target {
+        let base_t = self.constant(base);
+        let exponent_bits: Vec<_> = exponent_bits.into_iter().map(|b| *b.borrow()).collect();
+
+        if exponent_bits.len() > ArithmeticExtensionGate::<D>::new_from_config(&self.config).num_ops
+        {
+            // Cheaper to just use `ExponentiateGate`.
+            return self.exp_from_bits(base_t, exponent_bits);
+        }
+
+        let mut product = self.one();
+        for (i, bit) in exponent_bits.iter().enumerate() {
+            let pow = 1 << i;
+            // If the bit is on, we multiply product by base^pow.
+            // We can arithmetize this as:
+            //     product *= 1 + bit (base^pow - 1)
+            //     product = (base^pow - 1) product bit + product
+            product = self.arithmetic(
+                base.exp_u64(pow as u64) - F::ONE,
+                F::ONE,
+                product,
+                bit.target,
+                product,
+            )
+        }
+        product
+    }
+
     /// Exponentiate `base` to the power of a known `exponent`.
     // TODO: Test
     pub fn exp_u64(&mut self, base: Target, mut exponent: u64) -> Target {