Use paper towels to thoroughly pat the chicken pieces completely dry on all sides. Season the meat generously with salt and black pepper.

Melt the 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer and sear undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes until a beautiful golden-brown crust forms; flip and color the other side for 3 minutes, then transfer the meat to a clean plate.

Drop the diced yellow onion, sliced carrots, and celery straight into the hot pan fats remaining in the pot. Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently until the vegetables soften. Stir in the minced garlic and cook continuously for exactly 60 seconds until intensely fragrant.

Pour the chicken broth and poultry seasoning directly into the pot, stirring firmly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all the savory, dark caramelized bits anchored to the bottom of the vessel. Drop in the bay leaves and return the seared chicken pieces along with any collected plate juices to the liquid baseline.

Bring the pot up to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, then immediately drop the flame to low, clamp a tight lid over the top, and let it simmer gently for 45 minutes until the chicken muscle fibers are exceptionally tender.

While the soup simmers, prepare the pillowy dumpling dough. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. In a separate small bowl, stir the buttermilk and 4 tablespoons of melted butter together until unified, then pour the wet mixture straight into the dry flour bowl.

Use a silicone spatula to gently fold the ingredients together just until the white pockets disappear and a soft, sticky dough forms; do not over-mix, as over-handling develops tough gluten strands that make the dumplings dense and rubbery.

Lift the lid of your Dutch oven and transfer the tender chicken pieces to a clean platter, leaving the broth simmering gently over low heat. Once cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin and bones, shred the chicken meat into thick chunks, and slide it straight back into the bubbling stock. Discard the bay leaves.

Use a small cookie dough scoop or two tablespoons to drop rounded mounds of the sticky dough directly onto the surface of the simmering chicken broth, leaving a small space between each scoop so they have room to expand.

Clamp the lid securely back onto the Dutch oven and simmer undisturbed over low heat for exactly 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid during this window; keeping the pan tightly sealed traps the steam required to puff the dumpling starch blocks into an incredibly light, airy finish. Lift the lid, check that a toothpick inserted into the center of a dumpling comes out clean, and ladle hot into deep bowls.