This is one of the reasons that traditional paella pans, even the ones not meant to feed an army, are quite large. More surface area = more heat transfer = more area for residual moisture to be driven off. If you do not have a large broad paella pan, or are cooking on a stovetop, it does take quite a while for you to drive off enough water to start to get the crust everyone cherishes so much. You might need to turn the heat up more than you're normally comfortable doing with rice. Also, some people will remove the larger bits of rabbit or seafood from the paella and add them back in to prevent overcooking.
Whatever you do...and this might seem obvious to some but I don't assume...do not stir repeatedly while cooking. Just leave the rice be.
Recipes are guidelines. Measurements can be imprecise; humidity varies; oven temps can fluctuate; the ingredients added can have more or less moisture. If it came out different each time, using the same recipe, some of these factors came into play.
Just trust yourself and your instincts. If it doesn't look finished - leave it in the oven longer. There is a video clip of Jacques Pepin floating around the internet right now, talking about this very issue.
I cook paella on the stovetop, so my experience is a bit different, but I've found that it takes longer than I would expect-nearly any way you cook white rice takes 20 min. but paella is often twice that. I suspect that it's my cowardice as far ass the size of the flame; is it possible that your oven calibration is off? Only other suggestion I can think of (other than extreme humidity); call it risotto and have a nice day.
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Whatever you do...and this might seem obvious to some but I don't assume...do not stir repeatedly while cooking. Just leave the rice be.
Just trust yourself and your instincts. If it doesn't look finished - leave it in the oven longer. There is a video clip of Jacques Pepin floating around the internet right now, talking about this very issue.