A federal bankruptcy judge has approved extending the deadline for Interstate Bakeries Corp. to file its plan for returning to profitability, the company said Friday.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerry Venters has given the Kansas City, Mo.-based maker of Twinkies and Wonder bread until Sept. 22 to file the reorganization plan. The earlier deadline to file a plan was May 18.

If the company misses the deadline, its creditors could propose their own plans.

In asking for the extension last month, Alvarez & Marsal, the consulting group brought in to shepherd Interstate Bakeries through bankruptcy in September 2004, said it still needed time to get its arms around the company’s operation of 45 bakeries, 800 distribution centers and 27,000 employees.