Optimize middleware for large datasets

**Feature request**
It would be great to have retry for auth.

**Use case**
Many users need this functionality for production deployments.

**Implementation idea**
Add a new config option `enable_retry` with default `false`.

The title refers to middleware optimization, while the body requests authentication retries and an enable_retry configuration option; no files, entry points, or tests are named. First clarify which middleware and retry behavior are in scope, then locate the configuration handling and existing authentication tests. Done should include defined retry semantics, the default disabled setting, and tests for the requested behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.