Pastry / Blind Baking

So, the last time I tried blind baking so my quiche would have a crispy crust (Rachel Allen's method and recipe) I buttered the sides of the tart tin, put the pastry in, put in some greaseproof paper and filled it with beans. The pastry shrunk up from the sides of the tin, so when I put in the egg mixture, some went over the sides of the pastry and basically ruined the crust and made it soft anyway. 

Soooo.... should I not butter the ceramic flan dish I am using? Will the pastry stick to it if I don't grease it? Also, Rachel Allen wraps her beans in cling film and then bakes the pastry, but I was really freaked out about it thinking the plastic would melt all over everything. Would it? I mean, she does it on her show, so am I just paranoid? I used the greaseproof paper instead. I saw on another cooking show that if you stretch the pastry too much when you put it in the dish that it will shrink, but I don't think I did that. I may have rolled it a bit too thin, though, as I am no expert roller and I'm just trying to get the hang of pie crusts and pastries. Also, when you make your pastry dough, can you refrigerate it overnight, or only for the 30 minutes - 1 hour as suggested?

If you do use beans to weigh down the pastry, can you still cook and eat them afterwards?  Or do you just use the same beans each time you want to blind bake something?

Thanks for any advice... I really want to make a delicious quiche one of my best repeat dishes since I love it so much. The perfect shortcrust pastry is the only thing holding me back! Has anyone ever used the Delia method of grating frozen butter into the flour? I thought I might try that sometime to see if it makes a flakier pastry.

Also, when you make your pastry dough, can you refrigerate it overnight...

Yes.

If you do use beans to weigh down the pastry, can you still cook and eat them afterwards?  

No.

Or do you just use the same beans each time you want to blind bake something?

Yes.

I want to try that Delia method next time - grating the frozen butter.  Looks like a good idea to me!  I have trouble sometimes with the pastry shrinking as well - not sure about the answer to that?

I don't grease my pie plate.  I just lay the pastry in it, and I used buttered foil (the buttered side next to the pastry) to hold my pie weight beans.  I keep them in a special sack marked 'pie beans'.  DH tried to argue with me once about whether you could cook & eat them afterwards, and he tried - ha ha ha ha ha ha!  They didn't turn out nice, as cooked beans - they never fully softened plus tasted burnt.  

I think you need to let it fall into tin if that makes sense, so roll out more than enough, lay it carefully over your tin then pick up the edge and just let it fall into the crease, then trim with a knife, never run a rolling pin over the top as this will stretch it.
If you need to push the corners in a bit then do it using a leftover piece of pastry.

Then... to stop it shrinking put it in the fridge and let it rest for an hour before you bake it.

So your pastry will have rested twice

I use frozen butter, then shamefully use the pastry blade on my food processor so I touch it as little as possible, I also run my hands under cold water for ages until they're cold before I handle it

Yes, just let the pastry fall into the dish/tin and hold the edge while gently moving the pastry into the corners otherwise it catches on the rim and you end up stretching the pastry. I don't grease the dish and use a ceramic or glass dish.

I line the bottom only with greaseproof paper and use ceramic baking beans.

I don't think you would want to eat dried beans after they'd been baked. I doubt they'd be a very nice consistency (but I also doubt they'd kill you!).

I have never grated frozen butter and can't really see the point. Just use cold butter, cut into little cubes and work into your flour with your fingers.

The easiest way top stop the pastry shrinking is not to bother.  Roll the pastry with an extra inch or so round the side and leave the margin loosely folded over the top of the dish when you blind bake.  Run a knife along the rim to cut away the excess when it comes out of the oven; perfect fit every time.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone! I will try again soon!