Pour your 12 cups of low-sodium broth into a large heavy pot or Dutch oven and set it over medium-high heat. While it comes to a boil, prep your vegetables—don't rush this part. Uniform sizes matter because they cook evenly. Chop your celery into ½-inch pieces, slice your carrots on a bias (this increases surface area and helps them cook faster while looking prettier), and roughly chop your cabbage. Dice your onion small so it nearly melts into the broth. Once your broth reaches a rolling boil, add the carrots, celery, onion, and cabbage. Add your bay leaves now. Season with sea salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring it back to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to medium-low. This prevents the vegetables from becoming mushy.

Let the soup simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. You're looking for carrots that are fork-tender but not falling apart, and cabbage that's softened but still holds its shape. Taste the broth now—this is when you adjust seasoning. I often add another ¼ teaspoon of salt at this point because the vegetables release moisture and dilute the flavors slightly. This is your chance to make it perfect. While your vegetables simmer, prepare your dumplings. In a medium bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a small well in the center. Crack your egg into the well, add your olive oil, and pour in your milk. Stir gently with a fork until just combined—do not overmix. Overmixed dough becomes tough because you're developing gluten. The dough should look shaggy and loose, like wet biscuit dough. That's perfect.

Once your vegetables are tender, stir in your 3 cups of cooked, shredded chicken. Gently fold it in so it distributes evenly throughout the pot. The chicken is already cooked, so you're just heating it through. At this point, taste again and adjust seasoning if needed. The broth should taste savory and deeply satisfying, not salty.

Using a spoon—I prefer a tablespoon measuring spoon because it's the perfect size—drop rounded spoonfuls of dumpling dough directly onto the surface of the simmering soup. Don't stir them in; let them sit on top. You'll fit about 12-15 dumplings depending on how generous you are with each spoonful. Drop them in slowly so they don't clump together, spacing them about an inch apart. Cover the pot immediately with a lid or foil and increase heat to medium (not high—you want a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil that breaks up your dumplings). Set a timer for 5 minutes.

After exactly 5 minutes, carefully remove the lid. The dumplings should be puffy and pale, no longer doughy on the bottom. Pierce one with a fork—if it's cooked through (no wet dough inside), you're done. If they still look raw on the bottoms, cover and simmer for 1-2 more minutes. Remove the bay leaves with a slotted spoon. Ladle the soup into wide bowls, making sure each person gets 2-3 dumplings, plenty of vegetables, and a generous amount of broth. Serve immediately while the dumplings are still steaming.