Refactor middleware for better readability

**Feature request**
It would be great to have compression for config.

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

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

No files or tests are named. Start by locating the middleware and configuration entry points, then trace how options are loaded and applied; done means compression can be enabled through enable_compression, remains disabled by default, and works for the stated production deployment use case.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.