How to bake polymer clay

    For almoust all brands of polymer clay the minimum time required for curing is generally 15-20 mins per quarter- inch of thickness (at the thickest spot).Some clayers also bake longer than the minimum time because they feel it makes the clay items stronger.Qeep in mind that the light-colored clays (esp. Sculpeys) will darken more quickly than others, as will translucents or any clays with translucent in their makeup (not always obvious) - Fimo Soft's Translucent, Glow-in-the-dark, white with glitter, pearl and white may all need a slightly lower temperature

Temperatures recommended by manufacturers (...slightly different for different brands):
    230 -265 ° for the newest versions of the Fimos
    275 ° for Premo & for Sculpey
    215 - 270 °  for Cernit

         How to bake Clay

1.Put the pieces in the oven cold,turn the oven on to 200 and leave the clay for about 15 min, then turn it up to the full temp for the rest of the time for baking.Turn off the oven, and let the pieces cool in the oven
This seems to create a greater durability, and I haven't burned or scorched anything in years.The reasoning behind this is to bring both the inside and outside of the clay up to the 200 temp first, and then the final higher baking temp to complete polymerization...

2. Flash baking for smaller pieces
 Baking at 325 for 10 min (...no longer though).I have heard that this type of curing gives far stronger and more flexible clay (325 is still below the "burning" temp of clay)
It will work for smaller pieces-- maximum of about 3/8" thick at most, and 2" long
and it is not recommended for larger pieces though because the heat will not have time to penetrate to the centre,this works for Premo, but not for Sculpey III which will scorch.This process seems to take the pieces up to a quick bonding.

If you burn it
DON'T THROW IT OUT ....cover or embellish it with paint!
Wipe the baked clay down with rubbing alcohol first, then paint.

Bake materials

Baking can be done on various kinds of oven-safe materials, but some things need to be kept in mind:
Polymer clay will soften slightly when it's hot, so placing clay directly on a very smooth surface (like glass, metal, alum.foil, cermic tile) will result in a shiny spot on the clay wherever the smooth surface touched it.So if you don't want your baked sheets to be shiny, use something like terra cotta tiles (rather than the smooth ceramic ones), or simply place a sheet of paper between the your shiny tile or other item and the clay.
You can always sand off the shiny area(s) with sandpaper or steel wool,then buff a bit when necessary
Ordinary paper has about the same "texture" as baked polymer clay, so many people place their clay items on a sheet of paper;the paper is usually placed on top of a flat stiff surface like a tile, glass, or metal baking sheet.
You can always use accordion-folded paper for baking pens or beads or to elevate your piece.
Parchment paper is also used by many clayers
Be aware that some of the parchment papers in the US come with a silicone coating though (...usually says on the outside of the box) ... clay baked on that type has difficulty holding findings attached later with glues..so they're great for cookies, bad for polymer.